OAKLAND (KMJ) — The labor dispute at the West Coast ports has come to a close – and workers are now getting stuck into clearing the backlog.
But it could take a while to get back to how it was before the dispute started.
Out to sea are the ships that were left in limbo while the dispute was on-going – waiting for their cargo to be unloaded.
"Ships, containers, the truck trailers that carry the containers. None of them are where they need to be", says Mike Zampa – spokesperson for the Port of Oakland.
"We need to restore that balance of assets before we really get back to normal".
That's a problem for businessmen like Andrew Byrnes – who has products still sitting on the boats.
"It's very frustrating", he says. "If you break out your binoculars you can kind of see your boat and just kinda like watch it".
"It's a big drain and a big drag on startups for sure"
A tentative deal was struck on Friday – with workers getting back to the docks Saturday night.
It's estimated west coast seaports handle around a quarter of the country's international trade – worth around $1 trillion annually.
