Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images
- 1 in 10 dockworkers at the ports in Southern California are unable to work due to COVID-19.
- Surging infection rates mean less cargo is unloaded as the ports struggle to clear a near-record backlog.
- The Omicron variant has raised concerns from analysts who say it could cause the “mother of all supply chain stumbles.”
The Omicron variant is threatening to make the historic backlog at the largest ports in the US even worse.
About 800 dockworkers were unable to work this week due to COVID-19 related issues, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The publication said the number represents about 1 in 10 of the two ports’ daily workforce and includes workers who have tested positive for coronavirus, as well as those who are quarantining or felt ill.
COVID-19 infections at the ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach have increased exponentially over the past few weeks, in line with soaring infection rates in the overall US population. The Pacific Maritime Association told The Journal that the number of daily worker infections escalated from a few cases a day to about 150 a day last week. On Friday, Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, said the Omicron variant has not yet hit its peak in the US.
Infection rates at the ports are already stalling efforts to clear a backlog of over 100 cargo ships. On Monday, less workers meant that 13 fewer ships were unloaded and loaded at the twin ports, while other ships received less longshoremen, The Journal reported.
One dock worker at the Port of Long Beach and two at the Port of Los Angeles told Insider that some terminals have been hit harder than others, while others are operating at capacity.
Insider previously reported that dock workers at the ports that handle over 40% of all US imports moved a record amount of cargo in 2021, as the ports struggled to keep up with a boom in online shopping during the pandemic.
Wall Street analysts have warned that the highly contagious Omicron variant could cause even further damage to the global supply chain, worsening shortages and prices hikes in the US. In China, the country’s zero tolerance policy for COVID-19 infections is already slowing traffic at some of the world’s largest ports — a major cause for concern in the US, which relies on China for the majority of its goods.
“If they stick to their zero-case doctrine, a global supply chain disaster is on the horizon,” Tinglong Dai, a professor of operations management at Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School, told The New York Times.
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