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Looking out at the Pacific this year, worried farmers see giant cargo ships turning around empty, leaving their wine, butter and almond cargoes on the docks and at least $1.5 billion in exports lost. Meanwhile, 80-ship pileups off the coast of Southern California mean weeks or even months of delays unloading industrial inputs and consumer goods; and with truckers and warehouse workers quitting their jobs at record rates, full containers are piling up in fields and parking lots.
The port problems are complicated and serious enough to worry even President Biden, who has given speeches and put out policies to head off complaints about everything from empty shelves during Christmas shopping weeks to lost farm exports and inflationary bottlenecks.
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