Found a good thread re: how/why we are seeing so many shortages

[dixiegrrrrl]

Shipping is a linear system, bottlenecks bring it to a halt, then the halt radiates up and down the line.

this twitter thread by a shipping guy lays out the specific problems in a neat way, and details a system most of us don't see.
very glad I read it.

Link to tweet

[jmbar2]

1. Good post

Supply chain logistics is a fascinating field - lots of computer simulations can help optimize problems like this. His company website has lots more good info.

[Jim__]

2. His ideas sound good to a complete novice like me.

We need to break the logjam. His ideas are at least worth discussing.

[soryang]

3. Just in time shipping system in the failure mode

Shipping companies undercapitalized storage space, and driver resources, in order to maximize profits. When it doesn't work or a bottleneck develops, the failure is so large, that Uncle Sam is asked to pay the bill. What happened to magical mister market where the private sector resolves all problems more efficiently?

Great article by the way.

[NullTuples]

7. Corporations: Socialism for me but not for thee

[The Mouth]

9. Privatize the profits and socialize the failure costs

[KT2000]

4. Starting to make sense

thanks for posting.
I live across for Victoria BC where a container ship is burning due to leaking hazardous chemicals. This is after it lost 40 containers in a shipping lane for Canada and Seattle. It seems that shipping has grown too much too fast.

[dixiegrrrrl]

18. So glad you told me about it burning.

I had heard of the lost containers, but not the fire. Sheesh.

[bluecollar2]

5. KNR N/T

[niyad]

6. Thank you for this most informative post.

[Torchlight]

8. That was eye-opening to me.

I'm truly amazed by how little I actually know about the most basic things in world I live in. He walked me through the fundamentals of this, and just the tip of the iceberg he showed me was full of insights I had no idea about.

I'm holding onto this for future reference.

[liberalla]

10. Bookmark! I'll get to this later....

[Takket]

11. good read....

funny about halfway through i though to myself, they need some place to temporarily dump all these containers so the port can just focus on unloading while loading trucks happens elsewhere......

gotta be some place that can be used for this purpose. logistics still matter. has to be a place people can get to to work, have some sort of office space for lunching, has to have bathroom facilities, etc. can't just dump these things in a field 50 miles from anywhere.

[dixiegrrrrl]

20. I just found out last night why the empty container storage bottleneck....

Credit to Mr. Dixie, who is from Cal.

Southern Cal. Ports not allowed to stack containers more than 2 high because of earthquake laws.
And just the other day port authorities were asking for temporary exception, so that they could stack them higher, in order to create more ground space.

Fascinsting, isn't it? 🤔

[malaise]

12. Great post sis

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. Fun stuff to know about, eh? n/t

[Midnight Writer]

13. I'd be wary of "a three hour tour", especially if there is a millionaire and his wife, a movie star,

a professor and MaryAnn on board.

[Xolodno]

14. Like the idea of a railroad shuttle area and truck picking up the load there.

Send them out to Barstow and Bakersfield. Right now on the 605, 710, 60, etc. the right two lanes are just hammered with trucks and I'm wondering how on earth do we have shortages. You can't squeeze any more on to the freeways.

This is definitely taking a toll on our freeways, traffic, etc. And we foot the bill for road maintenance. Add to that, trucks moving 15 mph in traffic add one hell of a carbon foot print.

But then we run into another problem, capacity limits on railroads. A lot of rail has been taken out in the past couple of decades. Some of it repurposed to walking trails, absorbed into warehouses, etc. And we already see several engine trains hauling loads so big that the engines are both in front and back.

[Ron Green]

15. First step in the cure no one wants to talk about:

1) Quit buying so much stuff.

[MissB]

16. Bump

[OhZone]

17. Shortages still haven't come to the Jersey Shore yet thankfully.