Global supply-chain disruptions are rampant. Manufacturers and business owners now routinely deal with triple and quadruple lead times, widespread shortages, escalating prices, and transportation delays. Every link in the supply chain is out of alignment. Think of the imbalance as a sixth-grader on one end of a teeter-totter and a kindergartner on the other—only worse.

The situation at the ports is untenable. Long lines of ships wait at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, and other ships have slowed to avoid the congestion. Initiatives have begun for 24/7 port operations, but they require people to run all the port functions; truckers to pick up the correct container at the correct terminal at the correct time with a California-approved truck; someone to coordinate appointment times between terminals; container chassis to be available rather than tied up elsewhere; empty containers to be returned to Asia; and much more. This situation will not resolve itself anytime soon.

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