The number of containers that have been dwelling on the docks in Los Angeles and Long Beach for at least nine days has fallen over 20% in a week— a “promising sign” that recent actions are helping with port congestion, the White House said Wednesday.

The ports — which handle 40% of the country’s container imports —have been seeing a record number of shipments arrive, with containers piling up at the ports and creating bottlenecks.

Before the backlog, containers were typically left for fewer than four days at terminals, but recently, approximately 40% of containers are left for nine days or more, officials said.

Officials also recently announced the ports will shift toward 24/7 operations to help ease the backlog.

Reducing the number of containers piling up at the ports solves one issue, since the congestion has slowed the entire system down, leaving less space to move containers between docks and ships and less space for trucks to maneuver.

But the supply chain backlogs remain an ongoing problem that’s at least partly to blame for a worsening surge of inflation.

On Wednesday, the federal government reported that its consumer price index climbed 6.2% from a year ago — the biggest jump since 1990.

Source: KTLA