US governors offer up their own states as alternatives to California’s congested ports

California’s supply-chain crisis, just like a lot of goods, isn’t going anywhere. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in particular are seeing high levels of volume and congestion.

• Loaded imports have increased 24.2% and 32.1% YoY, respectively, per CBRE.

“There’s delays in every single piece of the supply chain,” Tim MacGuidwin, chief operations officer of fishing company Catch Co., told the New York Times. “You’re very much not in control.”

But some governors across the US think they have a solution: Send your stuff our way instead.

For one: Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week put into motion an “Escape California” campaign on Twitter, which claims freight carriers can re-route cargo from busier ports to Texas ports, which operate around the clock, in fewer than two weeks.

For two: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also offered up the state’s 15 seaports for support. The Port of Jacksonville is even offering incentive packages for carriers that work with analysts who can find alternative routes. “We are within about a one day truck drive of nearly 100 million consumers,” the port’s director, Robert Peek, told Bloomberg.

Over in California, the Port of Oakland said it’s able to take on Los Angeles and Long Beach’s overflow since it added roughly 300 employees after dealing with similar delays over the summer. Executive Director Danny Wan said no ships are currently stalled in its bay.

• “We have all the capacity Los Angeles and Long Beach have on a smaller scale, that’s all,” he said to Bloomberg.

Keep in mind: Some experts believe transferring traffic from California to the East Coast or elsewhere is easier said than done. For example, Florida’s ports are currently at 70% to 80% capacity and likely couldn’t take on that much more cargo anyway, Nathan Strang, director of ocean trade-lane management at Flexport, told Bloomberg.—KM