Shipping Issues Putting Northwest, U.S. Industries in Bind

Farmers and retailers in the Northwest and beyond are feeling the crunch as shipping delays continue to be a major issue at places like the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma.

The shipping problem is two-fold in the Northwest.

An increase in online sales during the pandemic has led to a surge in shipments from China which has overwhelmed major ports like Long Beach, California. Many shipping vessels follow a route that takes them from Long Beach to Oakland and finally to Seattle.

"You can see pictures of these vessels out waiting to get into the Port of Long Beach." explained Schrier, "If they don't even know when they can get in there, then they certainly don't know when they will make it into Oakland or Seattle."

Shipping companies are making so much money filling orders from China to the U.S. that they are then opting to quickly sail back to China with empty containers rather than fill up on US products. The decision by many in the shipping industry has prompted Schrier to work with the Federal Maritime Commission to see if the move violates U.S. trade law.

"We have to be able to get our hay there, our produce there or we are going to burn bridges with these relationships." continued Schrier, "If you're a customer in China and you're waiting for timothy hay, and it's not arriving, then you're going to go look for a market somewhere else. So this is potentially catastrophic."

Schrier hopes that trade will normalize as the pandemic wanes, which would reduce the trade imbalance and take some of the current stressors off of the system.