The number of ships waiting to enter the largest port connecting trade between the US and Asia has reached its highest level since the pandemic began, exacerbating congestion and delays while companies are Race against time to stock up on goods for the year-end shopping season. By the late evening of August 28, 44 container ships had to anchor in nearby waters and waited patiently to get a place to unload at the port of Los Angeles - Long Beach, California. The previous record of 40 ships lined up was set in early February, according to leaders of the San Pedro Bay maritime control agency. The average wait time is up to 7.6 days, compared with 6.2 days in mid-August. The reason container ships are jammed is because this is a peak time for import activity in the world's largest economy, while the transport network on land - such as trucking and rail transport - are also appearing a lot of bottlenecks. The flow delivers cargo containers to congested distribution centers and warehouses. Part of the reason is due to a shortage of workers, but this is the time when companies simultaneously promote stockpiling goods for the year-end shopping season. As usual, August and September are key months for shipping out of China before the country enters the Golden Week holiday in early October. In addition, companies importing goods from Asia are also facing disruptions related to the epidemic. Mike Witynski, CEO of retailer Dollar Tree, said: "Recently one of the ships we chartered was unable to enter China because a member of the crew tested positive for the virus. was forced to return to Indonesia and replace the entire crew. As a result, the shipment was delayed by up to 2 months." With ships loaded with cargo that are prone to delays, container ports on both sides of the US are overloaded with a record high number of ships waiting in line. Off the coast of Georgia, for example, there are at least a dozen cargo ships moored with the intended destination of the port of Savannah.