According to data from MDS Transmodal, the nominal value of goods moved in container, measured at the global level, has grown by almost 9 per cent between 2019 and 2021. But Antonella Teodoro, senior consultant at MDS Transmodal, explains that considering that the average annual increase in the previous two years was in the range of 0.7 per cent, ""it is reasonable to believe that the main cause of the increase estimated in the last two years is the escalation in freight rates.""

The approximate total value of trade stuck on the water is estimated by MDS Transmodal at roughly $30 billion.

An important component in this picture is supply chain inflation and its impact on what consumers will ultimately pay for goods.

Last Monday, the Railway Labour Act's 30-day cooling-off period ended, which escalated fears of a strike and pushed the Biden Administration to issue an executive order on Friday afternoon preventing a railroad unions' strike from occurring immediately. Contract negotiations have been on and off since the contract expired in 2020.

A coalition of US importers has been urging the Biden administration to establish a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB) to help the nation's largest railroads and rail labour groups reach a contract settlement.

Mr Biden established the emergency board on Friday to investigate the disputes between the rails and unions as they "threaten substantially to interrupt interstate commerce to a degree that would deprive a section of the country of essential transportation service" and to report back to the president within 30 days.

The most recent US rail strike in 1992 reportedly cost the US economy $50 million per day, a rate which would presumably be higher in the event of a strike today.

According to logistics company Woodland Group, unions say the impasse has left trains dangerously understaffed and employees overworked, whilst the National Railway Labour Conference has offered a counter including retroactive reparations and significant pay increases.

Meanwhile, the pile-up of containers bound for rail waiting at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach continues to pile up.

The Port of Los Angeles informed CNBC there is a total of 19,665 rail containers that have been waiting nine days or longer, while the Port of Long Beach reported a total of 13,819 rail containers waiting the same time frame. Over 60 per cent of all containers waiting at these ports are destined for the rail.

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