Thursday, March 11, 2010

C'mon guys, time to retool the system

From the WSJ

Basically, the whole supply chain was set up to handle imports, not exports. Now we are having a tough time moving things outside of the country due to these bottlenecks.

The Los Angeles Harbor Grain Terminal, which occupies a crowded corner near the Port of Los Angeles, lacks enough space to handle the volume of exports arriving from inland.

"We've always been the ugly stepchild when it comes to trade," said Dwight Robinson, vice president of the terminal. He said the grain terminal had to move off its waterfront property in the mid-1980s to make way for an area to unload imports.

Recently, nearly 100 rail cars stuffed with animal feed, grain and soybeans from the Midwest packed the lone railroad track leading into the export center. There are plenty of containers, just not enough space on the railroad tracks, said Mr. Robinson.

There is always a lag between when something is produced and when it is needed. You would think that with all the advancement in logistics, we would have figured it out already.

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