How 'Chaos' In The Shipping Industry Is Choking The Economy

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/06/15/ [login to see] /how-chaos-in-the-shipping-industry-is-choking-the-economy
Whidbey Island is a lovely place about 30 miles north of Seattle on the Puget Sound. Most days the tranquil sounds of rolling waves and chirping birds provide an escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. But these days, all is not so serene. Residents are complaining about the ruckus created by humongous container ships anchored off their shore.

"We've never seen them this close before," a Whidbey Islander told a local news station. "We're hearing the throbbing noise at night. ... It's a nuisance." The noise has been so loud that residents have been complaining to the county sheriff's office about it.

Whidbey Islanders are getting a front row seat to the growing U.S. trade deficit, which is hitting record highs. It's fueled by a surge in demand for imports, mostly from East Asia. There's so much cargo being shipped to the U.S. from Asia right now that the ports of Seattle and Tacoma are chock-full of container ships.

"We are seeing a historic surge of cargo volume coming into our ports," says Tom Bellerud, the chief operations officer of The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which manages all cargo processing at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. "The terminals are having a difficult time keeping up with processing all the cargo off these vessels fast enough."