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12/13/2021
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Deputy Administrator Amit Bose visited the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach last week to discuss recent progress in addressing supply chain issues through collaborative efforts among the ports, FRA and rail carriers.
FRA officials have been in weekly contact with Class Is to develop strategies to improve the flow of the supply chain. Railroads continue to operate 24/7 and have hired and trained hundreds of new employees to keep up with container imports, FRA officials said in a press release.
In addition, cash incentive programs offered to ocean carriers and truckers have encouraged weekend in-gate hours and reduced container backlogs. Upgrades and new equipment at intermodal facilities at the L.A. and Long Beach ports as well as Midwestern states have reduced congestion, expanded storage areas and ensured that container traffic moves smoothly, FRA officials said.
Those efforts have helped reduce the time needed to move goods from ports to consumers. At the Port of L.A., a container's average time spent in the docks fell from 12.9 days in June to 2.2 days in November, lower than the pre-pandemic average of 2.5 days. Meanwhile, this month, the Port of Long Beach reduced the number of rail containers that sit on the docks by about two-thirds.
"The reductions in port congestion over these past weeks demonstrate we're making progress in alleviating supply chain stress, and coordination across the federal government and with stakeholders is providing results," said Bose. "We still have work to do — and we will continue to work with the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to address current bottlenecks and build more flexible and resilient supply chains for the future."
During his visit to both ports, Bose highlighted other upcoming rail projects aimed at streamlining the supply chain. Those projects include installing and repairing new tracks, connections and inland container ports in Georgia, South Carolina and Iowa.