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The Real Reason LA port is backed up

time2roll said:
OK so why are most other ports backed up also?
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It is global. Too much of a demand all of a sudden.

This was a month ago ( WA...West Australia not Washington)

www.abc.net.au

Lamb consignment takes 4,000km train ride before it even hits the boats to America

Chilled WA lamb is being sent to Brisbane by rail as stressed North American shipping bypasses Fremantle, Melbourne, and Sydney.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au

Personally I don't mind some of these export/import holdups. Our primary producers are quick to put their hands out during bad times yet don't give a damn towards Aussies if foreign buyers pay more. 95% of WA crayfish (lobsters) are sold to China and this is a restricted fishery! We saw a few more crayfish in Qld shops at the start of the pandemic but not now.
 
I grew up in LA overlooking the ports and also remember the smog in the LA basin during the fifties. I am all for anything that CARB or LAAQMD would do to clean up the air. Ironically I bought batteries in 2010 from Balqon for my first EV conversion. Balqon had done some battery driven Mules for use in the Harbor. It doesn't sound like that program was successful.
 
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time2roll said:
I think the dedicated and programmed routes

Programmed for major truck routes would seem to be easier than every minutia possible for the cars to get down every unmarked situation.
Trains are underrated too. These need to be automated more also.
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Automated trains work great on flat ground. You have no idea how much seat of the pants it takes to run a 3 mile long 16,000 ton train .
 
Pyrofx said:
Automated trains work great on flat ground. You have no idea how much seat of the pants it takes to run a 3 mile long 16,000 ton train .
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Eh.

The technology has been around for ages. A few places use it in limited applications.

The real issue is unions and regulations saying someone needs to be at the helm. I personally have no issue with it. I'd like to see a partial automation implementation that prevents operator failure but still allows them to take over when necessary. It's not like there's a huge shortage of people to pilot the things, the pay is decent, and jobs are a good thing.

Trucks in the other hand. Half of the truck drivers on the road are morons, and they still get paid extremely well simply because we can't get enough of them. Source: I spent 4 years as one of the morons.
 
Short_Shot said:
The real issue is unions and regulations saying someone needs to be at the helm. I personally have no issue with it. I'd like to see a partial automation implementation that prevents operator failure but still allows them to take over when necessary. It's not like there's a huge shortage of people to pilot the things, the pay is decent, and jobs are a good thing.
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You also need engineers like me to study the systems and point out what could possibly go wrong.
When an East-coast commuter train crashed at speed into another, at first a new female operator (who died in the accident) was blamed.
But in studying the wreckage, they figured out she was standing on the brakes trying to stop it up to the end.
Problem was a relay that welded shut.
Insufficient fail-safes, and Failure Modes and Effect Analysis was apparently inadequate.
 
First , I am the most non union guy out there.
You cant automate heavy long trains on undulating terrain. We tried, they break.
Then you have pedestrian and vehicles. We hit them often. Without a crew , it would happen more.

My job is to fix whatever breaks reroute. We are usually up and running in 45 min. Who fixes it with nobody on board ???

Not a good job. On call 24 7 365. No set schedule, rain , snow, 130 heat. And that can be all in one 12 hr trip.

Yes. It can take 12hrs to go 173 miles.

17.90 an hour.
 
It all sounded great until $17.90/hour.
Where I live, you couldn't rent a 1 bedroom apartment. The day laborers waiting outside Home Depo won't accept that kind of pay.
I hope land and houses are cheap where you live. At least your income taxes would be low.
If you can have your own place and make ends meet, then all's good.
 
It's a fun job yes.
Very boring though. Cant read or listen tona radio. The Amtrak guys crashing a train took care of that.

It's great if you live in a little town like I do. It makes ends meet. To life in San panti hose' you could never do it.

I dont know how the guys in Richmond do it .
 
Just goes to show how fragile our supply lines are. Imagine if something big happened.
 
Short_Shot said:
Trucks in the other hand. Half of the truck drivers on the road are morons, and they still get paid extremely well simply because we can't get enough of them. Source: I spent 4 years as one of the morons.
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The problem with current driver assist “AI” is that it still doesn’t work as well as a typical moron. We pat ourselves on the back and claim miraculous progress in various technologies, but the truth is we are often just confusing consumer availability and lower prices for actual progress.
 
JMc said:
The problem with current driver assist “AI” is that it still doesn’t work as well as a typical moron. We pat ourselves on the back and claim miraculous progress in various technologies, but the truth is we are often just confusing consumer availability and lower prices for actual progress.
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Oh yeah definitely. There's a lot of unique issues with docks that would trip up an AI.
 
Oh wow I’m glad some have this all figured out with their opinions. And here I thought it was an issue all over the globe, and a driver shortage here in the US...

btw the overall air quality in the greater LA area is way better than it was a couple decades ago, despite massive fires in CA, increased population and traffic.
I wonder why… ?
 
No idea if related to the LA port, however the following is my personal observation:

I work with a major Texas grocery chain (HEB) and in prior years you took your life into your own hands when driving across the plant. The onsite truck drivers that shuttle trailers around the loading docks could backup a trailer at 50mph and did not care who was in their way. Was frightening to watch.

Last week I was at the same plant and was delayed 10 minutes while the truck driver crept across the parking lot, then made five attempts to back into the dock. My HEB contact reported they cannot get experienced drivers and are having to train them onsite the plant. Definitely slowed everything down.
 
Delmar said:
No idea if related to the LA port, however the following is my personal observation:

I work with a major Texas grocery chain (HEB) and in prior years you took your life into your own hands when driving across the plant. The onsite truck drivers that shuttle trailers around the loading docks could backup a trailer at 50mph. Was frightening to watch.

Last week I was at the same plant and was delayed 10 minutes while the truck driver crept across the parking lot, then made five attempts to back into the dock. My HEB contact reported they cannot get experienced drivers and are having to train them onsite the plant. Definitely slowed everything down.
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Yes, there’s a shortage of truck drivers nationwide.
 
Bob B said:
That article is fundamentally flawed ..... There are no lorries in that port .....LOL

I'm also really tired of hearing about the problems this administration "inherited." ..... but were somehow working fine before they took over.
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And I’m tired of certain types with an agenda making implied or overt statements that the current administration is somehow at fault for a worldwide supply chain disruption and national transportation crisis.
Newsflash… there were months long delays for many products (as well as product shortages caused by hoarders) for most of 2020. And it’s still going.
Some retired, some died, and many workers changed occupations during the last 18mos or so of a worldwide pandemic.
The economy came roaring back and some parts of the supply chain are not up to the task.
It’s really not difficult to understand at all if one turns off fox news and other rw shadethrowers and just think…
 
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