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cdestroyer Member
Joined: 14 Sep 2015 Posts: 1251 | TRs | Pics Location: montana |
apparently the pandemic has caused a supply chain problem. a huge backup of ships at ports unable to unload cargo causing items in stores and on order to be delayed. orders coming from china and points in southeast asia. west coast ports stalled.
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Schroder Member
Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 6722 | TRs | Pics Location: on the beach |
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Schroder
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Sun Mar 21, 2021 7:23 am
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I had 4 of these anchored in front of my house for weeks in a place where we normally don't see any ships
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Cyclopath Faster than light
Joined: 20 Mar 2012 Posts: 7739 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
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Sun Mar 21, 2021 9:26 am
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Container ships have been dropping a lot of cargo into the ocean lately.
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Schroder Member
Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 6722 | TRs | Pics Location: on the beach |
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Schroder
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Sun Mar 21, 2021 9:47 am
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Cyclopath wrote: | Container ships have been dropping a lot of cargo into the ocean lately. |
You make it sound intentional. Have you found anything to indicate this? We've had some pretty terrific storms this winter & there have been a lot of containers lost, like the Maersk Essen that lost 750 overboard out of 13,000 it was carrying.
The supply chain situation was explained in this Bloomberg Article in February:
Quote: | Seattle Is a Rarity Among U.S. Ports: It Has Room for More Ships
By Brendan Murray
February 17, 2021, 6:53 AM PST
The trade gateways in the U.S. Pacific Northwest that handle the flow of containers, cars and commodities are standing out for their calm relative to the congestion bedeviling ports from Los Angeles to Savannah, Georgia.
Currently, there are no vessels waiting to enter the Northwest Seaport Alliance, which runs the neighboring ports of Seattle and Tacoma. The NWSA is touting “ample” terminal capacity. Extra equipment is arriving to help handle cargo sent there to avoid backups at other ports.
Meanwhile, more than 60 loaded container ships are lined up in waters off the U.S. this week, unable to dock at other major American ports. The wait to enter the nation’s biggest complex -- L.A.-Long Beach -- stands at eight days, about triple the average delay in November.
The bottlenecks are the confluence of surging imports, sick longshoremen, Covid-19 workplace limitations, and trucker and equipment shortages. All surely to be complicated by a new menace: harsh winter weather that’s grinding an inland transportation system connected by trucks and trains to a halt.
The ports in the Puget Sound say they want to help.
“NWSA is well-positioned to be part of the solution in relieving some of the heavy congestion at gateways along the U.S. West Coast,” spokeswoman Melanie Stambaugh said in an email. “Our supply chain can handle additional vessels, have them offloaded and loaded efficiently, and ensure cargo moves quickly onto its final destination.”
Solutions would be most welcome, and the Federal Maritime Commission has a closed meeting scheduled for Wednesday to discuss next steps in an investigation into supply-chain problems around the ports.
Hapag-Lloyd AG, the Hamburg, Germany-based container carrier, laid out the North American port and intermodal logjams in an operational note on Monday:
35 ships are anchored off L.A.-Long Beach
16 vessels are waiting to berth at Savannah
10 are sitting in San Francisco Bay for berths in Oakland
In Vancouver, high import volumes are expected to last “well into” the second quarter
Trucker shortages mean waits for freight of several days at major U.S. cities
Railway delays range from three days in Norfolk, Virginia, to almost two weeks around Los Angeles |
and this one from The Herald:
Quote: | Amid import delays, Everett hosts 1,100-foot container ship
The Seaspan Brilliance has been anchored in Port Gardner for over a week. The ship is bound for Canada.
By Janice Podsada
Tuesday, February 9, 2021 5:03pm
EVERETT — It’s an unusual sight, a king-size container ship anchored in Port Gardner near the Port of Everett — but thar she loafs.
The 1,105-foot-long Seaspan Brilliance dropped anchor more than 10 days ago, containers piled high on deck.
“Container ships do not normally go to anchor,” said Mike Moore, vice president of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, a trade group representing marine terminal and cargo vessel operators.
There’s a simple reason they stay under way, Moore said. A ship that’s not under way or at a dock, loading or unloading, “is not making money,” he said.
The ship’s last port of call was the Port of Tacoma. The vessel’s next destination is the Port of Vancouver in British Columbia, said Peter McGraw, a spokesman for the Port of Seattle.
But with a backup of ships at the Port of Vancouver, the Brilliance has had to lay anchor in Port Gardner. Time-consuming COVID-19 safety protocols, coupled with a surge in consumer goods imports, are causing slowdowns and backups at some of North America’s largest ports.
“There’s a backlog” for loading in Canada, said Laird Hail, director of the Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Service of Coast Guard sector Puget Sound. Much like air traffic control, the service directs boat traffic and manages the Coast Guard’s designated anchorage areas, where ships can “park” for short stretches, usually three to 30 days. Elliott Bay, Anacortes and Port Gardner, which only has one designated parking space, are on the general anchorage list.
A spike in imports
Demand for consumer goods has surged. With no place to go but home, many households are buying toys, furniture, paint, garden tools and other items, according to the National Retail Federation.
“Nobody would have thought last spring that 2020 would be a record year for imports,” said Jonathan Gold, the retail federation’s vice president for supply chain and customs policy. “Retail sales saw strong growth during 2020, even with the pandemic.”
And the shopping spree is expected to continue, he said, potentially creating more port backups.
The backup at the Port of Vancouver, which has two main terminals and five container berths, is minor compared to backlogs in Southern California, Moore said.
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have had up to 40 container ships at anchor waiting to load or unload cargo. Ships carrying goods from Asia have backed up at West Coast ports in particular, Moore said.
Puget Sound hasn’t been affected, so far, except for anchoring several Vancouver-bound container ships, such as the Brilliance, Moore said.
“We have plenty of capacity at our terminals — Seattle and Tacoma — so no backups here,” the Port of Seattle’s McGraw said.
If you’re wondering why the Port of Everett couldn’t help shoulder the off-loading burden, it’s because container ships can’t just pull into any terminal. Their movement is governed by U.S. Customs and maritime law, port schedules and terminal capacity. And the port couldn’t lend a hand to the Brilliance if it wanted to. The seaport can only accommodate 700-foot ships.
Could Everett see more container ships at anchor this year? Perhaps, Moore said.
The Brilliance is scheduled to start its engines and get moving this week. In the meantime, there’s no shore leave for crew members. COVID-19 maritime restrictions have kept them in their quarters.
Lit up at night
From her Everett home, Cynthia Thomas has gotten used to seeing the big blue container ship floating peacefully in the bay. Per Coast Guard rules, it’s running generators for power. At night, it’s lit up like a Christmas ship.
“Right now the sun is shining on it and it looks very pretty,” Thomas said.
Still, Thomas is concerned. A check of the vessel tracking service FleetMon.com says the Brilliance is carrying hazardous cargo, she said.
Without a copy of the ship’s manifest, it’s not clear what it’s carrying, Moore said. However, household cleaning supplies, perfumes with alcohol and even medical supplies are classified as hazardous cargo, Moore said. Plus, a ship carrying thousands of containers is bound to have a mix of consumer goods, including items classified as hazardous.
The Coast Guard says there’s no cause for alarm.
“Whether its toothbrushes or natural gas, everything is stowed according to international shipping regulations,” said an officer with the 13th Coast Guard District, which covers Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
Hail, the vessel traffic director, says the stopover in Everett is unusual.
“I’m sort of surprised it’s there, myself,” he said.
“Container ships are normally in and out. The only time they normally go to anchor is if they have a piece of equipment that needs to be repaired,” Hail said. “Very rarely we’ve had to put a ship at Port Gardner. I would say once every other month, and if we do, it’s generally a bulk ship carrying grain or cement.” |
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Malachai Constant Member
Joined: 13 Jan 2002 Posts: 16092 | TRs | Pics Location: Back Again Like A Bad Penny |
We are replacing the rotting 40 year old decks in the front of the house. Originally we opted for cedar which now seems to be low quality expensive and in short supply. As a result we changed to synthetic luckily made in USA decking which is actually cheaper tan decent cedar. Pressure treated lumber is in similar short supply. We were told by lumber yards that this is because of COVID. Fiberglass doors are sitting some where in the pacific for the next few months so we we got one made in Marysville. If nothing else maybe COVID will provide an opera unity for us products.
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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Schroder Member
Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 6722 | TRs | Pics Location: on the beach |
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Schroder
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Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:32 am
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Everyone has been remodeling during the pandemic and lumber demand has increased by 30 percent rather than dropping in half as they predicted. Lumber prices have increased from $350 to $1050 per thousand board feet and I have a neighbor that cancelled his new home construction because the estimate almost doubled.
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Randito Snarky Member
Joined: 27 Jul 2008 Posts: 9513 | TRs | Pics Location: Bellevue at the moment. |
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Randito
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Sun Mar 21, 2021 10:46 am
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I rebuilt a rotted deck last summer -- much to my wife's frustration after reviewing the pallet of colors for some synthetic decking and choosing the "perfect color" as being told that that was a custom order color and it would be a least until the fall before the material would be delivered -- we chose a nearly identical color from was in stock and could be loaded that day. Turns out the in stock color is a perfect match for the concrete pavers patio that the deck is next to.
I've been doing some other projects lately and there are a lot of empty shelves in the lumber section of the Issaquah Lowes. I did buy some sheets of CDX "3/4" plywood -- $58 per sheet!
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Cyclopath Faster than light
Joined: 20 Mar 2012 Posts: 7739 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
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Sun Mar 21, 2021 11:25 am
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Schroder wrote: | Cyclopath wrote: | Container ships have been dropping a lot of cargo into the ocean lately. |
You make it sound intentional. Have you found anything to indicate this? We've had some pretty terrific storms this winter & there have been a lot of containers lost, like the Maersk Essen that lost 750 overboard out of 13,000 it was carrying. |
I'm pretty sure it's not intentional. Some of that cargo is pretty expensive. The article I read says a boat "shakes" side to side when it's caught in waves that are just wrong, like a speed shimmy on a bike. Whatever is going on, more cargo has been lost in the last couple months than in a typical year.
I bring it up because it seems relevant to the supply chain question. I'm not casting aspersions. Might have been able to word that better, but it didn't occur to me that anyone would think losing cargo would be deliberate.
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BigBrunyon Member
Joined: 19 Mar 2015 Posts: 1458 | TRs | Pics Location: the fitness gyms!! |
These guys need to get out of the harbors. Move along.. Get out of the way. Can't just just sit there! Have a smoke!! Move along!!!
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Anne Elk BrontosaurusTheorist
Joined: 07 Sep 2018 Posts: 2422 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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Anne Elk
BrontosaurusTheorist
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Tue Mar 23, 2021 9:41 pm
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Schroder wrote: | Everyone has been remodeling during the pandemic and lumber demand has increased by 30 percent rather than dropping in half as they predicted. Lumber prices have increased from $350 to $1050 per thousand board feet and I have a neighbor that cancelled his new home construction because the estimate almost doubled. |
That ought to really jack up the prices of all the townhouses in the building frenzy now happening on my recently rezoned street. Danged vulture developers ... get off my lawn.
"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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neek Member
Joined: 12 Sep 2011 Posts: 2337 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle, WA |
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neek
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Wed Mar 24, 2021 7:26 am
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Schroder Member
Joined: 26 Oct 2007 Posts: 6722 | TRs | Pics Location: on the beach |
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Schroder
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Wed Mar 24, 2021 4:06 pm
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Anne Elk wrote: | That ought to really jack up the prices of all the townhouses in the building frenzy now happening on my recently rezoned street. |
Do you happen to live in Ballard?
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Anne Elk BrontosaurusTheorist
Joined: 07 Sep 2018 Posts: 2422 | TRs | Pics Location: Seattle |
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Anne Elk
BrontosaurusTheorist
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Wed Mar 24, 2021 9:40 pm
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Schroder wrote: | Do you happen to live in Ballard? |
Yep. I get pestered by salivating RE agents with "clients interested in my house" constantly. I keep expecting them to do to me with townhouse developments what Ballard Blocks did to Edith Macefield any month now.
"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
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zephyr aka friendly hiker
Joined: 21 Jun 2009 Posts: 3370 | TRs | Pics Location: West Seattle |
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zephyr
aka friendly hiker
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Fri Mar 26, 2021 9:32 pm
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Slugman It’s a Slugfest!
Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
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Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
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Thu Apr 01, 2021 2:17 pm
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