The shipping backup at the heart of U.S. supply chain disruption has effectively disappeared, reports The Wall Street Journal. The Marine Exchange of Southern California says the queue of container ships waiting for berths at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach fell to just four vessels this week after exceeding 100 ships early this year. 

Shipping specialists are projecting fewer ships than normal will be heading to the ports in the coming weeks, the result of broader market dynamics that have cut into cargo volumes at the big neighboring ports. Officials point to a range of actions that have helped ease the congestion.

Container volumes also are falling at double-digit pace, easing the pressure on terminals that have been swamped since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Backups have popped up at other sites, but those may not last long if shipments keep slowing.