Officials with the Port of New Orleans say they are seeing some congestion when it comes to container ships, but not like on the east and west coasts of the country.
There have been delays in shipping traffic in south Louisiana for some time, due to the hurricane and now the pandemic.
While the Napoleon Avenue wharf is busy, inbound ships are not backing up here like they are on the east and west coasts, due to their proximity to Europe and China.
Transportation experts say supply line problems are making some goods scarce and others more expensive. Trucking companies and warehouse operators can’t keep up. Store shelves sit empty.
Officials at the New Orleans port are spending $100 million to bring in four new cranes to expand the Napoleon Avenue container facility in their effort to attract more long-term business. But for now, at least, they don’t expect many vessels to reroute here from clogged ports on the coasts because of distance and distribution issues. The four new cranes at the Napoleon Avenue wharf are expected to double the capacity there. They are expected to arrive around Thanksgiving, but their shipment was also delayed due to pandemic-related supply line issues.
