(AP) — A trade bottleneck born of the COVID-19 outbreak has U.S. businesses waiting for shipments from Asia _ while off the coast of California, dozens of container ships have been anchored, unable to unload their cargo. The problems began when Americans stayed home and dramatically changed their buying habits _ instead of clothes, they bought electronics, fitness equipment and home improvement products. U.S. companies flooded Asian factories with orders. And that led to a chain reaction of congestion and snags at ports and freight hubs across the country as the goods arrived. Shipments that once took weeks now can take several months.
