Elgin Area Chamber Of Commerce: Long Beach Port Hits Record, Fatal Tornado Destruction, GM To Build EVs In Michigan, Inflation Rises

Elgin IL

15 December, 2021

2:30 AM

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Press release from the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce: December 14, 2021 By Richard Lawson CoStar News   Long Beach Port Hits Record A clogged Port of Long Beach has meant a record year for handling cargo. The port reported that it has moved 8.6 million 20-foot equivalent units, or containers, so far this year, surpassing the previous record set last year with one month to go. Long Beach and neighboring Port of Los Angeles, the busiest in the United States, still are dealing with a monthslong backlog of container ships. Last month, the Biden administration took steps to ease the supply-chain problems, one of which was helping the ports operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The ports have reported that the backlog is easing but ships remain in line outside them. "Clearing the line of ships waiting to enter our port and moving containers off the docks are our top priorities to ensure shelves are stocked and consumers can purchase gifts during the holiday season," Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero said in a statement. "We are seeing notable improvements toward achieving that goal as we continue to help our supply chain partners catch up and ensure goods are delivered as soon as possible." The neighboring ports also have been dealing with containers stacking up. Both planned to institute a fee to encourage ocean carriers to move containers off the docks more quickly, but they put it on hold last week after seeing a 37% decline in aging cargo on the docks. Fatal Tornado Destruction Powerful storms late Friday night spawned tornadoes that caused substantial property damage and killed at least 80 in several central U.S. states, including six deaths in a partially collapsed Amazon fulfillment center in southern Illinois.   The storm began intensifying in central Arkansas, and southern Kentucky took the brunt of the portion that moved through Arkansas and northwest Tennessee.   Destructive tornadoes and high winds flattened small Kentucky towns. A candle-making plant in Mayfield, a city of about 10,000 in southwest Kentucky, was destroyed. At least a dozen died, and others are still missing among the approximately 100 employees at work filling holiday orders.   A tornado cut through roughly half of a nearly 600,000-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center about 25 miles northeast of St. Louis in Edwardsville, Illinois. San Diego-based real estate investment trust Realty Income bought the 3-year-old building a year ago for $41.5 million.   GM To Build EVs in Michigan General Motors reportedly is planning to invest more than $3 billion to assemble more electric vehicles in its home state of Michigan. One project involves converting a plant in Orion Township in suburban Detroit to build EV pickup trucks, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. The plant currently assembles GM's EV passenger car, the Chevrolet Bolt. Near an assembly plant in Lansing, the company is looking at building a battery plant in a joint venture with South Korean company LG Energy Solution. The 50-50 deal would come even as the battery company set aside nearly $1 billion to cover a battery recall with the Chevy Bolt this year. Last year, GM announced plans to invest $35 billion through 2025 on EV and autonomous vehicles. The company currently is building a battery plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, next to an assembly plant for EVs. Inflation Rises Further Inflation rose in November to the highest rate in four decades, driven by energy and food costs that have risen because of supply still not catching up with demand. The Labor Department reported Friday that its consumer price index showed prices in November increased 6.8% over the previous 12 months, the highest since the 6.1% increase in 1982. October had topped 6% as well. Removing volatile food and energy prices, the core index rose 4.9% over the past 12 months, the highest since 1991. The numbers were lower than economists had projected, and Wall Street investors weren't bothered by the report. Energy prices are up more than 33%, mostly because of fuel oil and gasoline. Used car prices are up more than 31% as the supply of new cars struggles to keep up because of computer chip shortages. Food prices are up 6.1%, but the monthly increase slowed in November from a big increase the previous month. Source: www.CoStar.com This press release was produced by the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author's own.