U.S. regulators stepped up the heat on ocean shipping companies and the seaport terminals some of them operate, seeking to smooth the disrupted flow of containers that are swamping America’s biggest ports and wreaking havoc on the nation’s strained supply chains.

The Mississippi Transportation Commission recently awarded approximately $768,000 in multimodal funding to enhance port operations in the western part of the state.

Ship congestion around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach hit an unprecedented level, worsening the bottleneck at the busiest gateway for U.S. imports.

The nation’s ports in December posted record or near-record cargo numbers as a surge of imports continued to enter facilities on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

The JZ Expedited Cos. announced it secured a first right of refusal to develop an additional 45-acre parcel as it seeks to expand its inland marine terminal business model in Jacksonville, Fla.

The leadership of the Federal Maritime Commission says it is becoming worried that ocean carriers may be assessing unfair detention and demurrage charges at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., as well as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

As operators of major container ports struggle to keep ahead of a rush of imported goods while retailers restock nine months into the coronavirus pandemic, Congress is aiming to lend additional support.

Many of the nation’s ports, especially on the West Coast, are reporting long delays to unload cargo ships, and warehouses near those facilities are filled as the supply chains are overloaded with goods.

New Jersey officials recently announced a series of infrastructure projects meant to support operations for port facilities and the vehicles that serve them.

A flotilla of almost a dozen cargo vessels sits anchored just south of Los Angeles this weekend, waiting for berth space. Around the twin ports of L.A. and Long Beach, shipping containers already are stacked five and six high — the maximum the fire department will allow.