By Lisa Baertlein

LOS ANGELES (Reuters] – Although the busiest U.S. port expects its steady flow of imported goods to continue, it closely monitors COVID-19 closures in China’s major cities. This was stated Wednesday by its executive director.

Gene Seroka, Port of Los Angeles executive director, stated that “in the coming weeks we expect to witness an increase in vessels heading our way as retailers get a major push to replenish shelves.”

Seroka stated that they are also closely monitoring the developments in China, with another wave of COVID-19 spreading to major cities and businesses.

Los Angeles’ Port of Long Beach and its adjacent Port of Long Beach receive more Chinese imports than any other U.S. Ocean Gateways. The Port of Los Angeles and the adjacent Port of Long Beach set a record in February for their imports, with a total 814,408 equivalent units (20TEU) — 3.5% more than last year.

Seroka explained that forty-four vessels are currently sailing cargo to Southern California’s port complex. This is in contrast with the thirty ships typically seen this time of year.

China, however, has placed millions of people on lockdown in an effort to stop spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant. This is already affecting factories making everything, from electric scooters to Apple iPhones (NASDAQ:).

China has implemented some of its most stringent measures in Shenzhen’s key manufacturing hubs, Dongguan and Changchun as well as Shanghai’s financial center – which houses the largest container port on the planet.

Shenzen’s small-sized, but high-value electronics are often brought to America by plane. Inexpensive or bulky items move by ship, including Mattel (NASDAQ:) toys, furniture and other home goods sold by QVC owner Qurate Retail Group (NASDAQ:), and dishwashers from Samsung Electronics (OTC:), said Eric Oak, a supply chain analyst at S&P Global (NYSE:) Market Intelligence’s trade data firm Panjiva. Mattel (NASDAQ:), Qurate Retail Group (NASDAQ:) and Samsung (KS –) didn’t immediately reply to our requests for comment.

Major air and sea ports of Shenzhen, Shanghai and Guangzhou continue to be operational. However locals report that truck drivers are being delayed due to road testing and restrictions. Some Shenzen warehouses have stopped accepting deliveries.

Phil Levy (chief economist at Flexport freight forwarder) said that the supply chain is dependent on each link working together. Levy explained that without truck drivers and warehouses, it is impossible to move goods already in progress, but not with the new ones.