California port chief urges transformation of supply chain

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Southern California’s Port of Long Beach is still dealing with a backlog of waiting cargo vessels and its top official has renewed a call for transforming the supply chain into a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week operation. Port Executive Director Mario Cordero said in a state-of-the-port address Wednesday that there are 168 hours in a week and for the most part the terminals are open less than half of those hours. Cordero says more cargo could be handled during that downtime without expanding or building new facilities. But he says doing so would require truckers and warehouses to also operate every day around the clock.