Let’s start at the very beginning, (as Maria von Trapp might say). economy? And how and when does it get resolved? How bad is this? How did it happen? What does this mean going forward? How will this impact the U.S. Shipping containers are unloaded from ships at a container terminal at the Port of Long Beach-Port of Los Angeles complex, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 7, 2021. 'Containergeddon,” is what Steve Ferreira of shipping consultancy Ocean Audit calls it, according to Reuters. “I don't think anyone's ever seen anything like this in their careers, anyone who's alive,” says a board member of a large shipping company whose family has been in the business for decades. What we are witnessing is a massive, unprecedented traffic jam of humankind's largest sea vessels that is at the very core of the conundrum. That was true and still is the case in Vietnam, for instance. Initially this was because factories in Asia (for example) had to close for weeks or even months because workers were sick with the coronavirus. No doubt you’ve heard how the world’s supply chain is being stressed like never before, resulting in shortages and delays in everything from semiconductors, to cars, sneakers, exercise equipment, and Rolexes. That brings us - 20 or so months into the COVID-19 pandemic - to a vast oceanic parking lot dotted with scores of giant container ships off the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. An under-recognized characteristic of any pandemic is its nonlinear course, which delivers, in true viral fashion, shocking, unanticipated consequences. Despite the nagging disruptions that mark much of what we do - and even worse the horror of continued sickness and death - in some ways, we can hope that the worst is behind us.īut not all of it. We know masks and social distancing are effective. As we head closer to the second anniversary (if that’s the right word for it) of the pandemic, it’s clear we’ve made some great progress fighting COVID-19.

Crazy shipping