That number breaks last month's record of 97 vessels. To put it into context, there would typically be about 17 ships at anchor in pre-pandemic times. The two Southern California ports account for 40 per cent of all shipping containers entering the US

The backlog is expected to get worse with another 45 ships expected to arrive at the ports shortly.

One economist said the backlog at American ports is partially due to a change in consumer spending patterns during the pandemic.

The CEO of a toy-making company said the cost of shipping supplies such as cardboard and plastic have recently increased by 300 per cent, and expects some toy prices to double by next year.

Goods stuck on container ships off the coast could be there for a long time despite the Biden administration's intervention to help ease the backlog.

Meanwhile, despite the congestion and transportation and warehouse capacity crunches, the two ports are moving cargo - a lot of cargo. The Port of LA had its busiest September ever, while Long Beach had its second-busiest.

The Port of LA handled 903,865 TEU in September, an increase of 2.3 per cent compared to the previous September record set last year of 883,625 TEU.

Through the end of September, 2021 volume at the Port of LA totalled 8.18 million TEU, a 26 per cent increase from the same period last year.

"Despite the global supply chain challenges, the Port of Los Angeles and its partners continue to deliver record amounts of cargo," said executive director Gene Seroka in a statement. "This is made possible by the extraordinary effort of our longshore workers, truck drivers, terminal operators and so many others on the waterfront and in our region's warehouses."

Loaded imports in September totalled 468,059 TEU, about the same as last year. Loaded exports, however, dropped 42 per cent to 75,714 TEU compared to September 2020. The Port of LA said that was the lowest number of exports handled in a month since 2002.

Empty containers increased 28 per cent year over year to 360,092 TEU due to the continued demand in Asia, the port said.

The Port of Long Beach had its second-busiest September on record, down 5.9 per cent from the same month in 2020, "demonstrating the need for extended work hours within the supply chain as unprecedented numbers of vessels wait off the coast to unload cargo," it said.

The port moved 748,472 TEU in September. Imports decreased 8.7 per cent year over year to 370,230 TEU, while exports dipped 1.6 per cent, to 110,787 TEU. Empty containers moved through the port dropped 3.6 per cent, to 267,456 TEU.

Through the end of September, 2021 volume totalled 7.10 million TEU, up 24.3 per cent from the first nine months of 2020, reports New York's FreightWaves.