Lithium battery fire halts work at Los Angeles, Long Beach port terminals

Several terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach remained closed Friday after a tractor-trailer overturned on a vital artery for cargo and a fire among its payload of lithium batteries burned for a second day.

“The batteries have been damaged, and are on fire and off-gassing, with reports of one battery exploding,” the LA Fire Department said in an alert about the incident that began Thursday.

The accident occurred on a stretch of roadway linking the two ports, shutting several terminals through Friday’s second shift. The neighbouring Southern California ports make up the busiest container hub in the US, handling roughly a third of the nation’s seaborne imports.


As of Friday afternoon, firefighters were working to move the container with the hazardous cargo to an open lot, where it will continue burning, the Fire Department said.

The LA port said APM Terminals, Fenix Marine, Everport and Yusen Terminals would remain closed Friday as work continued to clear the site before the road can be reopened. TraPac and the West Basin Container Terminal stayed open, as did the World Cruise Center.

At least one of the affected terminals are planning to operate Saturday morning as planned.

No injuries were reported, according to the fire department. As of late Thursday, the Port of Long Beach didn’t expect there to be an impact on overall cargo flow, according to a spokesperson.

The episode unfolded as dockworkers at major container ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts appear increasingly likely to go on strike when their labor contract expires on Monday. The backlog from a one-week work stoppage would take at least four weeks to resolve, according to analysts.

Importers have routed some of their goods to the West Coast to mitigate the risk of disruption of the East and Gulf coast ports, and to get ahead of potential tariff increases from escalating trade conflicts. The LA ports have so far kept up with surging volumes, which are approaching pandemic records.

For Matt Schrap, chief executive officer of the Harbor Trucking Association, the incident showcases how fragile the supply chain can be, even when it’s running smoothly. Schrap said he’ll be watching to see what the accident investigation finds, given how quickly the number of lithium batteries moving through the ports — and over the road — is rising.

“We need to be approaching the movement of this equipment in a safe and responsible manner, even if it’s going a mile down the road,” he said. “We need to make sure that when it leaves that terminal, it is secure, it is on the right equipment, and it’s going to be reaching its destination safely.”