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Political tensions between the U.S. and China are contributing to lower container shipments between the world’s two largest economies, says Ocean Network Express CEO Jeremy Nixon.

A steep, across-the-board decline in imported cargo, exports and empty containers during March dropped volumes at several major ports to levels not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supply chains across the world are healing up almost as fast as they broke down. That doesn’t mean the pressure they’re exerting on inflation will disappear as quickly.

One of the world’s biggest shipping companies just issued a downbeat assessment of the global economy, saying container demand will fall as much as 4% this year.

With the increasing number of cargo ships on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts waiting to be unloaded nearing 150, Federal Maritime Commission member Carl Bentzel believes the upcoming peak season for retailers could be extremely challenging.

The Port of Los Angeles reported its highest container volume ever for the month of June in its 115-year history.

The Port of Los Angeles, the U.S.’s largest for container traffic, has deferred a plan to charge ocean carriers that fail to clear empty containers off the docks and is consulting with the logistics industry on alternatives on how to cut the backlogs.

In an effort to clear the growing backlog of containers, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are charging shippers a container storage surcharge that port officials say will increase based on the number of days a unit sits in one of the facilities.

To understand why more than 100 containerships are waiting to enter U.S. ports from Southern California to Savannah, Ga., it helps to keep tabs on the congestion that’s building at another key junction of freight transportation: rail yards.

Imported cargo shipments to the U.S. are expected to remain at a record or near-record levels for several more months as consumer spending continues to restart the pandemic-damaged economy. But industry experts say all of that buying is clogging an already overtaxed supply chain.