The footage is almost surreal. A massive container ship drifts in slow motion toward Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. The inevitable collision sends the bridge crashing into the Patapsco River. The crew of the ship, commandeering a 1,000 ft long vessel with the capacity to haul ten thousand twenty-foot long shipping containers, had no power to stop the accident: the ship lost power, stuck in the Francis bridge.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse occurred in March 2024, and reminded the world of the fragility of America’s port ecosystem.

The bridge collapse paralyzed the Port of Baltimore, one of the East Coast’s busiest ports, a top gate for cars and farm equipment, for months, sending shockwaves through the global supply chain and costing the American economy $1.7 billion per week. The accident served as a chilling reminder in the age of Amazon Prime and “magically” stocked grocery shelves: the global economy does not operate on autopilot, and it can (and will) crumble without proper maintenance. And its most vulnerable point is also one of the least discussed: ports.

We rarely think about ports, unless there is a problem. However, almost everything we own reaches us through a port. Every iPhone, every car, and every cup of coffee that reaches American consumers depends on a sprawling network of ports that form the “circulatory system” of global capitalism. The towering container cranes of Los Angeles-Long Beach, or the grain elevators of New Orleans, are the maritime gateways from where global supply chains meet a domestic distribution network that handles over $5.4 trillion in cargo annually.

However, American ports are now cracking under pressure. Baltimore’s accident has not been the only disastrous event that has put America’s port infrastructure in the news in recent years. The Baltimore bridge collapse, though a singular catastrophe, crystallizes a deeper anxiety about America’s crumbling port infrastructure. Far more troubling than any single accident is the systemic malaise that has been quietly strangling U.S. ports for years.

The problem is simple: America’s ports are stuck in the past. While global competitors have embraced automation, 24/7 operations, and integrated digital systems, U.S. ports remain anchored to decades-old infrastructure and manual processes designed for a much smaller scale of trade.

As a consequence American businesses pay higher logistics costs than their international competitors, eroding the country’s manufacturing competitiveness. Supply chain vulnerabilities become strategic risks in an era of rising geopolitical struggle, where port efficiency can make the difference in economic competition. America’s outdated port infrastructure threatens the country’s prospects for a new industrial dream.

American Ports are Crumbling

Modern ports are supposed to work in a way that takes the most advantage of the versatility of the iconic steel box known as Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) container, that can carry anything from toys and clothes, to auto parts and frozen food. Their main advantage is that as Lego pieces they can be stacked by the thousands on massive cargo ships, and then easily transferred to trains and trucks.

The way things are supposed to work is straightforward: a container arrives by ship, gets unloaded by crane, is moved through the yard by specialized vehicles, and then either picked up by a truck or transferred to a train. The main point here is speed, coordination and minimal dwell time. A port works efficiently when containers are not sitting around. Every hour they do is money lost and more supply chain risks accumulating.

Right now, in American ports nearly every part of that process is under strain. American ports are aging, with many facilities built in the 1960s and 1970s now handling cargo volumes they were never designed for. Most U.S. ports still rely on manually operated cranes and diesel yard trucks, while their global competitors have embraced automation. Unlike ports in Rotterdam or Shanghai that run around the clock, many U.S. ports still operate with limited shifts, sometimes closing on weekends or nights, due to labor rules and local constraints.

The problem expands throughout the system. “Last mile” infrastructure — the link between port, rail, and truck — is highly fragmented. Many ports lack integrated digital systems to track the location of containers, the arrival of trucks, or the performance of yard equipment. Rail spurs are limited, and trucking companies face delays due to poor scheduling and bottlenecks at port gates. Many still rely on outdated, incompatible appointment systems for trucks, creating bottlenecks that no amount of yard automation can fix on its own.

Each small failure contributes to the next. A lack of automation slows crane operation, limited yard space means containers sit longer, and poor scheduling keeps trucks waiting. Even when containers are ready for pickup, the system often lacks the coordination capacity to move them out fast enough. Without the ability to move containers out, ships cannot unload their cargo and have to wait offshore, containers pile up, and congestion at all levels builds fast.

But infrastructure is not the only thing that is aging, the workforce is graying too. The average longshoreman is approaching retirement age, and to make things worse, fewer young workers are entering the field, in part due to union imposed worker scarcity to keep salaries up. Labor shortage, instead of being a temporary problem, has become chronic, particularly for skilled positions like crane operators and logistics coordinators.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed how all these vulnerabilities combined can become a dangerous cocktail. At the height of the pandemic in late 2021, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, together the busiest container gateway in the U.S., suffered a historic supply chain bottleneck as surges in consumer demand crashed against outdated infrastructure and a strained labor force.

Social media was plagued with images of more than a hundred container ships anchored offshore, waiting an average of eight to nine days to get into port, simply because the cargo couldn’t be moved fast enough. A shortage of dockworkers, truck drivers, and warehouse space added to the gridlock, while COVID outbreaks and shifting health protocols slowed operations further.

That’s what was called the “great global supply chain crisis,” that triggered a cascade of supply chain disruptions throughout the American economy: major shipment delays, blank retail shelves, skyrocketing container and transport costs, and the beginning of an inflationary spiral that only four years later seems to begin to recede.

American ports are aging, with many facilities built in the 1960s and 1970s now handling cargo volumes they were never designed for. Most U.S. ports still rely on manually operated cranes and diesel yard trucks, while their global competitors have embraced automation. Unlike ports in Rotterdam or Shanghai that run around the clock, many U.S. ports still operate with limited shifts, sometimes closing on weekends or nights, due to labor rules and local constraints.

The Need for Port Automation

With all these handicaps, American ports are falling behind their global competitors. If America wants to become a manufacturing powerhouse again, it can’t rely on outdated and decaying port infrastructure. Technology alone might not be able to solve everything but, is an indispensable part of any solution, and in that regard, expanding automation systems of American ports is essential to address the problem of workforce shortage.

However, a 2024 report from the Government Accountability Office, shows that while all 10 largest U.S. container ports have adopted some automation technologies, American ports significantly lag behind their international counterparts in implementing advanced automated systems. Fully automated terminals like those in Rotterdam or Shanghai can handle over 40 container moves per hour, 24/7, with minimal errors, while many U.S. ports struggle to reach 30.

U.S. ports primarily use basic processes of automation like automated gate systems, with only 4 of the 10 largest ports deploying automated cargo handling equipment. In contrast, 9 out of 10 selected foreign ports use automated advanced equipment. That shows a substantial technology gap that undermines the global position of American ports.

Two key examples of successful automation are Long Beach in California and Bayonne in New Jersey. The Long Beach Container Terminal shows how large-scale, fully automated operations can work in the U.S., using autonomous yard cranes and remote-controlled ship-to-shore cranes powered by software customized by American engineers. Meanwhile, Global Container Terminal in Bayonne proves that older ports can modernize too, combining semi-automated Chinese cranes from Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) with smart traffic systems and U.S. Tideworks Technology software.

One of the barriers for widespread automation adoption in American ports has been cost. Successful automation requires initial investments ranging from $500 million to $1 billion per terminal and payback periods of over 10 to 20 years. For that to be cost efficient a high container volume is needed, around 2.5-3 million TEUs annually, which many U.S. ports don’t reach.

Automated Solutions

Apart from established players, promising American startups are developing more affordable automated and semi-automated solutions that could reduce costs while decreasing reliance on foreign technology, particularly Chinese applications. Companies like Mythos AI, Buffalo Automation, Phantom Auto, and Outrider are creating technologies aimed at upgrading U.S. port operations incrementally rather than through costly mega-projects alone.

Phantom Auto enables remote operators to supervise entire fleets of yard vehicles, transforming traditional dock work into safer, higher-skilled supervisory roles. Buffalo Automation’s AutoMate system assists ship pilots with AI-powered navigation to guide vessels through complex waterways, potentially preventing collisions like the Dali incident. Mythos AI, founded in 2020 by autonomous vehicle industry veterans, developed Archie, the world’s first autonomous hydrographic survey vessel.

This 26-foot boat tackles a critical but overlooked problem: outdated depth data that forces ships to carry lighter loads than they could safely handle. At Michigan’s Port of Monroe, Archie demonstrated how real-time hydrographic information could help ships maximize cargo capacity without compromising safety.

Outrider, which still doesn’t operate in ports, represents one of the most promising port automation opportunities and technology adaptation from the broader logistics sector. The Colorado company developed autonomous electric yard trucks that move trailers and containers within distribution centers. Their vehicles have robotic arms capable of handling trailer connections, a task traditionally performed manually.

They have deployed technology across customer sites representing over 20% of North American yard trucks. As autonomous electric yard trucks can operate 24/7, streamlining container movements within terminals that still depend heavily on manual processes, Outrider’s technology could offer significant advantages for port automation, addressing ground movement of shipping containers that many automated ports haven’t fully tackled. The good news is that Outrider CEO Andrew Smith has confirmed that “Outrider will serve port operations as well.”

As their system can operate in mixed environments alongside existing human-operated equipment, rather than requiring completely isolated automated zones, offering ports flexible automation paths allowing for incremental deployment. In this fashion they could help fill critical gaps in port automation while avoiding massive infrastructure investments typically required for fully automated terminal conversions.

Looking ahead, humanoid robots may eventually impact port operations as the technology matures. DP World, the Dubai logistics giant, is already trying the use of humanoid robots for tasks like unpacking containers and moving boxes to conveyors. In the U.S., the AI boom has sparked renewed interest in humanoid robots focused on logistics, ranging from established companies like Boston Dynamics to newer players like Apptronik, which recently partnered with GXO Logistics to manufacture the Apollo humanoid for warehouse work. While still an emerging technology, mature humanoid robots deployed in other segments of logistics supply chain operations could eventually handle processes in ports currently only attainable by manual labor.

The Political Battle Over Automation

Although automation clearly is the way forward to modernize American ports and boost the nation’s geologistics power, automatization faces strong political resistance from powerful labor unions that view technological advancement as an existential threat. In October 2024, the International Longshoremen’s Association called on a strike and shut down East Coast ports from Maine to Texas for three days, demanding guarantees that automated cranes, robotic yard trucks, and AI-powered logistics wouldn’t replace human workers.

The ILA president Harold Daggett was blunt: “I will cripple you.” The strike was reported to cost an estimated $5 billion per day and secured preliminary automation protections, demonstrating the unions’ stranglehold over the future of port infrastructure.

Ironically, the union’s pushback may have strengthened the case for automation as a matter of national economic security. Daggett was clear of how aware of the power of port workers to paralyze the entire supply chain the ILA was “construction workers get laid off because the materials aren’t coming in. Everybody’s hating the longshoremen now because now they realize how important our jobs are.”

When a small workforce can halt billions in daily trade at will, it exposes a critical vulnerability in America’s infrastructure. That the strike was short, was indeed proof of the weight that unions carry in American ports and their influence over government policies. Although reasonable longshoremen livelihoods concerns were the center of the strikes narrative, the reality is that what the union’s fear is that automation reduces the size and dependence over labor force, it threatens the source of power and influence that unions like the ILA wield over American ports.

While port modernization must incorporate longshoremen’s know-how and experience, it cannot subordinate national economic interests to preserve union political leverage. The unions’ influence helps explain why federal support for automation remains limited, with some programs even restricting funding for automated equipment that might eliminate jobs, effectively crippling America’s modernization capacity while competitors like Rotterdam and Shanghai race ahead.

The institutional paralysis in embracing automation of American ports becomes more concerning when viewed against global competition. While American ports remain trapped in political battles over automation, China spent the past decade building the world’s most advanced network of “smart ports,” setting a global benchmark for automated maritime logistics.

Port Modernization at Home, Influence Abroad

While China wasn’t immune to pandemic- related bottlenecks, personnel shortages were less important than container shortages due to the immense volume of exports the country experienced during the pandemic — a short-term manageable problem when ports rely on minimal human workforces through extensive automation.

At mega-ports like Shanghai Yangshan Deep-Water Port and Qingdao Port, fleets of electric automated guided vehicles shuttle containers across vast yards with no human drivers. Remote-controlled ship-to-shore cranes, guided by operators in control centers miles away, thanks to AI optimization unload cargo day and night. These terminals are fully integrated with 5G wireless networks, industrial IoT sensors, and real-time digital twins that reduce labor costs, and massively boost productivity.

Under Xi Jinping, port infrastructure has become a tool of geopolitical influence. Through the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese operators like COSCO now control stakes in dozens of European ports like Hamburg, Piraeus or Algeciras, as well as critical facilities across South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The $3.5 billion Chancay Port in Peru, opened in November 2024, represents China’s boldest move into America’s backyard: a fully automated mega-port that reduces Asia-South America shipping time by ten days while giving Beijing a strategic foothold over Pacific trade flows.

China’s dominance on global port infrastructure creates dangerous vulnerabilities for American interests. Imagine a future crisis where China doesn’t need to fire a shot. Beijing simply slows the global flow of goods that America needs, supplies bound for U.S. allies could be delayed in Panama or Greece. In a conflict, China could potentially hold shipments or shut down ports handling American cargo, strangling supply chains critical to U.S. industries.

Even in peacetime, Chinese-controlled infrastructure gives Beijing leverage to get preferential treatment for its own goods, disrupt American commerce, or gather intelligence on trade flows. Beyond the tactical risks, China earns long-term diplomatic influence by modernizing foreign ports — some of them America’s allies — and making its technology the global standard, embedding its power deep in the machinery of global trade.

China’s dominance in port automation is also evident in American soil. ZPMC supplies most automated cranes in U.S. ports. What if one day they just all mysteriously glitch? Moreover, dependence on Chinese cranes also creates a vicious cycle. Without domestic demand for automation, American companies can’t develop competitive solutions, making U.S. ports both less efficient and more reliant on Chinese technology.

There is No Alternative

Automation alone won’t solve all the challenges plaguing American port infrastructure and workforce, but a large-scale automation effort remains a necessary condition for any serious modernization effort. The GAO report revealed mixed results from existing automation projects— while some terminals achieved increased capacity and efficiency, others found automated equipment operated slower than human-operated systems.

These diverse outcomes reflect a deeper reality: America’s ports are 20th-century facilities struggling to handle 21st-century trade volumes. The challenge becomes clearer when considering implementation context. Labor restrictions that limit automation implementation directly impact technology performance, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy where constrained automation underperforms and validates unions' and skeptics' American startups presented earlier show how practical, incremental automation can address labor constraints and capacity limits without total infrastructure rebuilds.

Policymakers must recognize port modernization as essential infrastructure for American re-industrialization efforts. The CHIPS Act demonstrated how federal investment can revitalize critical industries; a similar approach combining infrastructure investment with workforce development could infuse energy industrial renewal while helping America regain a competitive edge in maritime logistics.

America’s ports represent the foundation of national prosperity and security. The ILA strike threat in October 2024 demonstrated how America’s economic future cannot remain hostage to narrow, particularistic union interests against automation.

The current trajectory of American ports decay is in collision with the possibility of any American industrial renaissance. If American ports remain struggling with aging infrastructure, labor shortages, and union opposition to automation, any dream of an American industrial renaissance will collapse like Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The time to change the course is now. Getting port automation right will ensure that the circulatory system of global capitalism continues to sustain American economic vitality for generations.