Wednesday, Sep. 29, 2021
Are cargo ships being prevented by US states from unloading goods, causing a backlog?
Although there are dozens of waiting ships at U.S. ports resulting in a delivery backlog, the backlog is the result of supply chain problems, changes in consumer demand and port worker availability, not from states preventing ships from unloading their goods as a social media post claims.
A spokesperson for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development told Lead Stories: "There are many complex reasons that lead to congestion and delays, but there is no action by port authorities that prevents these ships from unloading."
A report by that organization cited changing demands during the pandemic: "Changes in consumption and shopping patterns triggered by the pandemic, including a surge in electronic commerce … have in fact led to increased import demand for manufactured consumer goods, a large part of which is moved in shipping containers."
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Port of Los Angeles SAN PEDRO BAY PORTS ANNOUNCE NEW MEASURES TO SPEED CARGO THROUGHPUT
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development CONTAINER SHIPPING IN TIMES OF COVID-19: WHY FREIGHT RATES HAVE SURGED, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICYMAKERS
- National Retail Federation Retail Imports Remain Strong But Growth Slows as COVID-19 Disruptions Continue
- BBC Record backlog of cargo ships at California ports
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Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
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Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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