An usually high number of container ships are dotting the Long Beach coastline—sometimes waiting up to five days to dock—due to a perfect storm of record cargo numbers, the coming Chinese New Year and limited capacity at warehouses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Friday. - ADVERTISEMENT - Despite a slowdown at the beginning of 2020 as the pandemic hit, the Port of Long Beach last year saw its busiest year on record, moving more than 8.1 million cargo container units, up 6.3% from 2019. Consumer goods largely fueled the second half of 2020 as demand rose for medical supplies and home improvement items, like exercise equipment and office furniture, as more people worked from home in the pandemic.