Container stacking limits in Long Beach

 Although Long Beach Municipal Code Section 21.45.168 states that no more than two containers may be stacked on top of each other, the City has agreed to temporarily allow the stacking of up to four containers without considering penalizing the yard operator for violating the code, as a measure of action against the stagnation of containers that keeps the supply chain in crisis.

It was through an executive order from Governor Gavin Newsom that the agencies will be able to access the temporary suspension of the sanctions, to get to work and alleviate the congestion that has prevailed for several months in Long Beach and other ports.

For an unprecedented problem, authorities ruled an unprecedented action, even leaving open the possibility that yard owners could contact the department of fire prevention to receive a special approval that allows them to stack up to five shipping containers, just a few days after a record number of ships were stranded off Long Beach, waiting to be unloaded.

The logistics industry welcomed these new provisions, even considering that, if applied in the rest of the United States, it would be much easier and faster to eliminate the accumulation of containers to alleviate the shortage of products that this situation is generating.

However, there are still other limitations that are exacerbating the crisis in the supply chain, for example, the rules that prevent trucks from unloading empty containers and, therefore, cannot pick up more cargo, wasting time, energy and space available.

The port of Long Beach has spent months breaking its own cargo records, in the face of the also rapid increase in demand for products due to online purchases that more and more people make from the comfort of their home or office, to reduce the risks of contracting COVID-19 and other diseases, such as monkeypox.

The increase in volume, coupled with shortages of labor and equipment, have caused extreme bottlenecks in the busiest complex in the United States, made up of Long Beach and Los Angeles, which generates 40% of the imports of the country, a compelling reason to resolve this major logistical problem as soon as possible.

There are more and more actors involved in resolving this great traffic jam, since California is a massive support for the entry of merchandise into the country. Other measures that have been considered to remedy the problem include opening additional temporary container storage locations, increasing the workforce of truck drivers and warehouse workers, suspending other regulations, and creating a new inland port. 

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