President Joe Biden will turn his focus to supply-chain transportation bottlenecks on Wednesday, as the congested Port of Los Angeles will announce a 24 hours a day, seven days a week effort to confront the squeeze on goods.
A meeting at the White House will convene corporate executives, labor leaders as well as port officials, and Biden plans to highlight their efforts to ease distribution backlogs and respond to product demands that have grown during the coronavirus pandemic, two administration officials said on the condition of anonymity to preview the day’s events.
The 24/7 shift by the Port of Los Angeles follows a move last month by the nearby Port of Long Beach to a similar schedule. FedEx Corp., United Parcel Service Inc. and Walmart Inc. are also pledging to move to 24/7 operations, the official added, while Target. Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and Home Depot Inc. are taking steps to start addressing the backlog in distribution.
The White House said that among those six companies, a total of 3,500 additional containers a week would be moving at night through the end of the year.
“Large companies are announcing they will use expanded hours to move more cargo off the docks, so ships can come to shore faster,” the White House said. “Unlike leading ports around the world, U.S. ports have failed to realize the full possibility offered by operation on nights and weekends.”