Photos: Container ships line up outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

A backlog is growing at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Feb. 17, 2015 12:21 PM PT

Roughly 20,000 dockworkers have been working without a contract since July. Back-to-back weekend port shutdowns have many companies that rely on goods traveling to and from Asia growing increasingly nervous about disruptions.

Backup at ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

Cargo ships anchored offshore at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Monday. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have seen a slowdown in the movement of cargo as port employers and representatives of the dockworkers union try to work out a new contract. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Cargo ships anchor offshore as a backlog grows at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Cargo ships anchor offshore Monday at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, where cargo movement has slowed down as port employers and representatives of the dockworkers union try to work out a new contract. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A sailboat navigates between ships anchored offshore at the Port of Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

A tugboat pushes an oil tanker in the Port of Los Angeles. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Cargo ships berthed on Terminal Island on Monday await unloading. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)