Terminals Updates:
Due to increased volume and labor shortage, most terminals are experiencing congestion issues, including Los Angeles/Long Beach, Savannah, Charleston, Miami, Houston, Seattle.
Each month, high cargo volumes continue to enter the U.S., with most North American ports facing berthing congestion.
U.S. East Coast:
New York/New Jersey: Vessel wait time up to 2 days due to high import volume.
Norfolk: Vessel waiting time is up to 6 days due to high import volume.
Charleston: Vessel wait times are between 14-16 days due to labor shortage, high import volume and reduction of yard space.
U.S. West Coast:
Long Beach: Vessel waiting time is up to 38 days due to high import dwell and labor shortages. The terminal in Long Beach moved about 800 thousand TEU’s in February 2022, 3,2% more compared with same month of previous year, especially due to 4.4% increase in imports and 3.5% movement of empty containers.
Los Angeles: Vessel waiting time is up to 26 days due to yard congestion, high import dwell, and labor shortages. The port operation increased 7.3% in February, compared with the same month of previous year, processing about 860 thousand TEU’s. Import containers increase 2.7% and empty containers movement climbed 18.6%.
Seattle: 3-day vessel wait time due to high import volume and labor shortages. Container terminals are more congested, and many containers are stored on average about 5 weeks in a closed area until truckers can pick them up. All operations are delayed about a month, and transit times are much longer than in previous weeks due to blank sailings and vessel delays at the port pushing other vessel further back.
Oakland: up to 15 days of waiting time for containers from Asia and 17 days from Germany due to high import volume, labor shortages, and one berth down. 90% of yard capacity is being used. Ships looking to berth in Oakland will now wait offshore, which will delay operations. The backlog is caused mainly due to a massive amount of empty containers in terminals waiting to be returned to Asia.
U.S. Gulf Coast:
Houston: Waiting time is up to 13 days due to high import volume, labor shortages, port congestion and weather events. The Houston terminal increased its operation by 37% in February compared with the same month of the previous year, moving more than 271 thousand TEU’s.
Rail Terminal Updates:
Canadian Pacific Rail Road – CP: The strike by members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) last week affected the rail service in USA and delayed vessel operations.
NS: Last week NS Rail (Norfolk Southern Rail) suspended services to Jacksonville from all origins until further notice. This restriction will impact our bookings moving from Chicago to Santos and Buenos Aires as the routing is via Jacksonville.
BNSF & UP/LAX/LGB: There is severe congestion. Limited gate capacity, restrictions, rail car shortages, and limited reservations continue, causing increased delays on import rail units. There is limited allocation at this time. In Los Angeles, containers wait an average of almost 16 days before being picked up.
Chicago Rail Ramp: The rail facilities in Chicago are experiencing severe congestion due to dwelling containers and chassis shortages. There are gate restrictions and lane suspensions, causing extended delays in pick-ups and deliveries. The rails continue to monitor in-gates with allocation or reservations.
CSX Bedford Park: Limiting reservations for in gate to rail.
NY/NJ: Chassis shortage includes rail ramps due to the high increase in import volume.
Philadelphia: Severe chassis shortages in the Philadelphia area. Extended delays in pick-ups, deliveries, and drayage.
Charleston: Lack of chassis causing extended delays in pick-ups, deliveries, and drayage over to rail facilities.
Savannah: Continued congestion and delays at the local ramps. Shortage of chassis and equipment continues to affect operations.
Jacksonville and Miami: The shortage of equipment in Florida has carriers struggling to keep the service due to a slower turnover of import containers coming into the area. Most loads have been delayed an average of one to two weeks. Equipment shortages are resulting in pick-up delays.
Seattle: Congestion due to increased dwell for Import rail cargo. Up to 10 days delay for cargo going to Chicago. Most truckers are booked 2 weeks or more in advance with limited trucker capacity. Local terminals are extremely congested, all import containers are moved to a closed area for about 6 weeks. Transit time from Japan which is the closest port to the Pacific Northwest is around 62 days.
Houston/Dallas: There is a severe chassis shortage and ongoing congestion in the area. Finding truckers has become a challenge as they are booked for 2-3 weeks in advance.
Chassis issues are challenging in all regions in the U.S. This is due to the division of the intermodal system, the severity of the Covid 19 pandemic, and the lack of additional capacity at different levels of the supply chain.
Source: Shipco Transport Inc.
