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WASHINGTON — Funding included in a $3.5 trillion budget bill meant to improve conditions at the country’s commercial ports is backed by congressional transportation leaders, the Biden administration and industry stakeholders.

Ports operating in the U.S.’s biggest gateway for trade with Asia will extend night hours and work weekends to clear port delays amid record volumes.

The ports of New Orleans, Baton Rouge and South Louisiana, vital in terms of shipping grain commodities worldwide, have been shut down, and there is no timetable for when they will reopen.

A COVID outbreak that has partially shut one of the world’s busiest container ports is heightening concerns that the rapid spread of the delta variant will lead to a repeat of last year’s shipping nightmares.

A group of federal transportation representatives held a roundtable discussion with local leaders and supply chain executives July 15 to discuss congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

DP World plans to buy South Africa’s Imperial Logistics Ltd. for $890 million, in what the port operator said would be its most significant acquisition in Africa so far.

One of the world’s largest port operators, DP World, said July 1 it had acquired American logistics firm Syncreon Holdings in a $1.2 billion deal, the latest investment as the maritime company pushes to expand farther afield.

For the last nine months, ports have seen record container volumes with movement limited and more supplies needed. As a lynchpin of our supply chain, managing a port requires high-functioning information systems to predict and plan for supply and demand as well as communicating with every link in the value chain.

The nation’s ports remained very busy in May, as high shipment volume continued to flow through facilities on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts at a record-setting pace.

If it seems like shipping delays and soaring delivery costs aren’t getting any better, it’s because by some metrics they’re both getting worse.