President Joe Biden said Wednesday the administration’s Port Action Plan to improve shipping and relieve bottlenecks has made progress.
The president said the number of containers sitting on docks and blocking shipping movement declined 33% since the plan’s implementation. Shipping prices also have fallen, the president said, down 25% over that time.
“More goods are moving more quickly and more cheaply out of our ports, onto your doorsteps, and onto store shelves,” Biden said. “All those concerns, a few weeks ago … there would not be ample food available for Thanksgiving … families can rest easy. Grocery stores are well-stocked with turkey and everything else you need for Thanksgiving.”
The Port Action Plan invested in the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports in California, where 40% of goods enter the country. Resources also were provided to other key ports on the East Coast, including Savannah, Georgia, to “help reduce congestion and undo the damage caused by Covid,” Biden said.
“We also met with the CEOs of Walmart, Target, Home Depot, TJ Maxx, and others,” the President said. “Those retailers, large retailers and others, agreed to move products more quickly, stock their shelves more quickly.”
