SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With global supply shortages and a lack of transportation workers threatening to significantly disrupt daily life across California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he needed to find a way to speed up the delivery of imported goods.
On Wednesday, he signed an executive order allowing state agencies to create new short-term storage spaces on state-owned property.
The order also authorized agencies to lift certain cargo limits on docking ships so more items can be delivered.
Continuing their coordination with the Biden Administration's Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, Newsom directed the federal Department of Finance to work with the state agencies on a more sustainable solution for port operators and transportation workers.
“California’s ports are critical to our local, state and national economies and the state is taking action to support goods movement in the face of global disruptions,” Governor Newsom said in a news release. “My administration will continue to work with federal, state, labor and industry partners on innovative solutions to tackle immediate challenges while also bringing our distribution processes into the 21st century.”
Once onshore, according to the executive order, ships can unload inventory into available storage spaces created by participating state-owned property managers. This creates more room for any potential influxes in goods caught up in the delays.
But a nationwide shortage of truckers continue to stifle delivery of already-delayed goods — leaving them to sit in shipping containers on the port.
With Newsom's new executive order, the supply chain in California can change permanently if state agencies decide improvements and upgrades are needed in transportation and port infrastructure
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