Compilation of items contributing to West Coast port congestion:

The port congestion problem has developed largely due to the following factors:

* A significant fire over several buildings at the West Coast terminals caused a major

  back-log in operations as cargo handling had to be re-located/modified within the

  Long Beach/Los Angeles CA terminals which are the busiest terminals in the United

  States for ocean cargo.

* The peak shipping season started in late summer and the volumes have been steadily

  increasing since then.

* The port union workers on the west coast have been working without a contract since

  the deadline in June 2014. Both sides agreed to continue operations while still negotiating,

  but labor actions have added to the problem.

* A trucker shortage on the west coast (particularly for hazardous material) due to increased

  demand from the fires and the peak season (along with some regulatory demands on truckers

  which have caused some to go out of business) has put pressure on the entire system to stay

  current and a back log of containers builds every day.

* Shipper’s anxious to avoid import and export delays have changed bookings to ports like

  Seattle, Tacoma, Portland and Vancouver but now, those smaller ports are over-inundated

  and congestion is building there.

* A bad winter is predicted and this will likely add to the issues particularly for ocean containers

  moving to/from the Midwestern United States.