U.S. Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Daniel Maffei has stated that a lack of warehouse space and truckers to move products seemed to be at least part of the problem, as vessels laden with consumer goods are stuck outside ports because there is no space to dock and unload. Wages for truckers and warehouse workers may need to rise to resolve shipping backups, he said.
Kristen Monaco, director of the FMC’s Bureau of Trade Analysis, said truck drivers are generally not paid for the time they spend waiting, and long waits hurt efficiency: “Think of it as sort of reducing your labor supply by having the same number of people there because you’re just not making use of their time. And that is an inefficiency. And it’s not currently paid, which means there’s very little economic incentive to fix that inefficiency.”
Source: reuters.com
