NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Ports in California have been making headlines for their delays and supply chain backups. But the Port of Virginia has been running smoothly and outperforming other major ports on East Coast.
Virginia Port Authority CEO and Executive Director Stephen Edwards said this week that its terminals are doing better in part because they have fundamentally different operating structures than those in Los Angeles and Long Beach.
For instance, Edwards told the Virginian-Pilot the two ports in the Los Angeles area are run by two distinct organizations. Virginia’s terminals are run by one entity — the Virginia Port Authority. If one terminal has a congestion issue, the port authority can easily divert cargo to another terminal.
The Los Angeles area also has three trucking providers that are unrelated to the terminals. Virginia’s port authority has sole control over the trucking fleet, Edwards said. He also credited the terminal’s automated stacking cranes. Because of them, the port spends less time running extra shifts and burning out employees when ships are late.
