Solving the Port Problem with Lauren Beagen

Lauren Beagen and Joe Lynch discuss solving the port problem. Lauren is a seasoned maritime attorney and the founder of Squall Strategies, a boutique maritime consulting and legal solutions company and offers a wide range of consulting services to serve a variety of businesses and clients.

About Lauren Beagen

Lauren M. Beagen is a seasoned maritime attorney and the founder of Squall Strategies, LLC. Ms. Beagen is often called on for her industry expertise by major media networks, including recent features on CNBC and FreightWaves. Ms. Beagen has extensive experience in oceanborne commerce and maritime law, with specific emphasis on maritime transportation, Shipping Act issues, supply chain management, international antitrust law, and port and terminal operations. Notable appointments include work in the federal government as Attorney-Advisor (International Affairs) in the Office of the General Counsel at the Federal Maritime Commission and work at a public port authority as Maritime Project Manager for the Port of Boston at the Massachusetts Port Authority. Ms. Beagen received a Bachelor’s degree in International Political Science and International Studies from Hope College, a Master of Marine Affairs degree from the University of Rhode Island, and a Juris Doctorate from Roger Williams University School of Law. She is an avid sailor and recreational fisherman and holds a US Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential (50 ton) for Great Lakes and Inland Waters.

About Squall Strategies

Squall Strategies is a boutique maritime consulting and legal solutions company and offers a wide range of consulting services to serve a variety of businesses and clients. Whether you’re a small, local business or a multinational corporation, we can help you reach new levels of success. Squall Strategies is available for advice and consultation on potential federal regulatory impacts on your business, federal regulatory review and analysis, advice and consultation on supply chain and ocean freight movement, Federal Maritime Commission related inquiries (including FMC mock audit/review), advice and consultation on demurrage, tariff/schedule reviews, cargo movement and shipping insight, foreign tariff and trade expertise, and emerging markets and offshore wind analysis. Our team is also available for advisory boards, leadership recruitment, and corporate speaking engagements.

Key Takeaways: Solving The Port Problem

Lauren M. Beagen is a seasoned maritime attorney and the founder of Squall Strategies, which is a boutique maritime consulting and legal solutions company and offers a wide range of consulting services to serve a variety of businesses and clients.
In the podcast interview, Joe and Lauren discuss solving the port problem.
The number of ships waiting to enter the biggest U.S. gateway for trade with Asia reached the highest since the pandemic began, exacerbating delays for companies trying to replenish inventories during one of the busiest times of the year for seaborne freight.
The port problem first became noticeable in the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, the ports where the majority of shipments from Asia are received. Other ports around the USA have also seen delays and disruptions.
The port problem was caused by the following factors:
- Increased demand by US consumers who went on a buying spree. Because restaurants were closed, vacation travel restricted, and many big purchases delayed because of pandemic-driven shortages – bored, house-bound consumers bought a lot of stuff that had to be made in Asia and shipped to America’s West coast ports (Los Angeles and Long Beach). Consumer spending also received a bump from government money that was generously distributed during the first year of the pandemic.
- While American consumers went shopping, particularly online, the Asian factories and supply chains that produce the goods were broken due to labor and materials shortages. Access to vaccines, medical care, and family issues contributed to the shortages.
- Labor problems in the USA exacerbated the problem as people left the workforce in large numbers due to COVID infection, money from the government, homeschooling of children, and caring for family members.
- The port congestion may have also been caused by a lack of digitization and technology at the ports.
The National Shipper Advisory Committee (NSAC) is a team made up of both public and private sectors organizations tasked with solving the port problems.
The NSAC is led by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), which is the independent federal agency responsible for regulating the U.S. international ocean transportation system for the benefit of U.S. exporters, importers, and the U.S. consumer.
The NSAC is actively working to identify and eliminate bottlenecks. The NSAC is also working on a number of initiatives to improve the ports including: demurrage/detention standards, data standards, transparency, and digitization.
Lauren and the Squall Strategies team helps shippers and logistics providers navigate Federal Maritime Commission related issues (including FMC mock audit/review), federal regulatory reviews, advice and consultation on potential federal regulatory impacts, general maritime consulting, advice and consultation on demurrage, cargo movement and shipping insight, foreign tariff and trade expertise, and emerging markets and offshore wind analysis.