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“All I see are ships,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, the busiest port in America, gazing out of his office window recently toward the Pacific Ocean.

The pandemic has wreaked havoc across the global supply chain, and the evidence is stacking up high in the world’s overcrowded ports. Normally, pre-COVID-19, ships could steam directly into ports in L.A. and Long Beach with no waiting. But, as of Aug. 18, there were 32 vessels waiting at sea for a spot to unload at one of the two ports.

The congestion is largely due to the tremendous volume of traffic coming from ocean carriers to satisfy the inte…