Ships Idle Off Los Angeles, Long Beach Amid Port Problems

The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are facing their biggest crisis in a decade as container ships idle offshore because cargo can't be moved off the docks fast enough. The bottleneck blamed on a surge of imports, shortage of truck trailers, and bigger ships hauling more cargo has created a seven- to 10-day delay for retailers anxious to stock shelves for the holiday season. Retailers are rerouting goods to other ports, and some shoe and clothing companies have begun transporting products by air. Other ports are experiencing some of the same problems, but the situation is worse in Southern California at the nation's busiest port complex, which handles 40 percent of U.S. imports. There were seven ships anchored offshore on Friday. Port officials say the current delays are the worst since 2004 when a new system was created to get truckers to haul loads at night.