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USMEF discusses port congestion concerns

Some ag groups have asked the Trump administration to engage with supply chain stakeholders to address concerns about anticipated port congestion.

Joe Schuele (she-lee) with the U.S. Meat Export Federation says there are fears that tariff implementation changes with markets like China could recreate supply chain disruptions that the U.S. faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If we see a surge in import cargo, that can lead to severe congestion,” he said. “It can make it difficult to get red meat out of those coastal ports in a timely basis. That’s especially a concern for chilled product.”

USMEF recently joined a large number of agricultural groups in a letter to the administration expressing concerns about the potential for severe port congestion, inaccessible vessel capacity and containers, higher freight rates, and shipment delays.

Schuele tells Brownfield the shipment of ag goods has been steady in recent weeks.

“We haven’t seen any real major backlogs so far,” he said, “but it’s always kind of a lingering concern. We know how things were backed up during COVID and during various labor impasses and things like that. We don’t want to re-live that.”

Schuele says if there’s a potential surge of cargo from Asia to West Coast ports, the administration needs to soon engage with terminal operators and other supply chain links to ensure readiness to support the seamless flow of goods.