U.S. Needs to Guard Exports From Supply-Chain Snarls, Envoy Says

U.S. port authorities and ocean carriers, dealing with record import volumes, need to ensure that exports aren’t hindered amid the unprecedented supply-chain logjams that aren’t showing clear signs of dissipating, President Joe Biden’s port envoy said.

The Port of Oakland in California -- a state that exported $21.7 billion of agricultural goods in 2019 -- is opening an off-terminal container yard for agricultural exporters struggling with capacity shortages and high freight costs. While the move ensures “agricultural exports that go out in containers are not disadvantaged,” authorities need to make sure “that everything from the ocean-carrier service that brings those American exports around the world to the physical facility, port open and other courts are in place” in the long term, John Porcari told reporters in Washington Wednesday.