Top U.S. Maritime Regulator Sees Shipping Snarls Lasting to 2022

The top U.S. maritime regulator said stretched global supply chains pushing ocean-freight rates to record highs may stay strained into 2022, raising concerns about whether small American companies can weather another year of a tangled transport system and much higher costs.

“As you see the pandemic lift, I think you’re going to see changes in what’s demanded but demand is going to go up even further,” Dan Maffei, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, said in an interview last week. “If this is primarily a supply and demand issue, then unfortunately it’s going to continue because the supply is ...