Nearly 35,700 import containers were waiting for on-dock trains at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach this week, as record cargo volumes and reported railcar shortages slowed the movement of freight inland.
Of the 35,688 containers awaiting rail service on Oct. 26, 10, 562 had been on the terminals for at least nine days, according to The Dwell’s compilation of the ports’ daily rail reports. The figures count individual containers, rather than twenty-foot-equivalent units, or TEUs, the standard measure of port cargo volume.
The backlog was more severe at Los Angeles, where 8,133 of the 19,626 containers awaiting trains had waited nine days or longer. At Long Beach, 2,429 of 16,062 rail-bound containers had reached that threshold. That put the share of longer-waiting containers at 41.4% in Los Angeles, compared with 15.1% in Long Beach.
The daily inventory figures follow a broader increase in the time containers spend on marine terminals. Average rail-container dwell across the port complex rose to 7.19 days in September from 6.75 days in August, according to Pacific Merchant Shipping Association data. Average dwell for containers leaving by local truck increased to 3.18 days from 2.95 days.
Both ports handled record monthly cargo volumes in September. Los Angeles processed approximately 1.04 million TEUs, while Long Beach handled 997,177 TEUs. PMSA linked the increase in container dwell to the extended peak shipping season and heavy cargo flows.
Freight broker C.H. Robinson identified Southern California intermodal railcar shortages as a constraint in its October market update, saying limited equipment availability was extending import dwell and slowing inland movement. Empty-container repositioning was also complicating equipment flows, while truck-destined containers were moving relatively normally by comparison.
The figures point to particular pressure on the rail side of the ports’ operations. The Oct. 26 counts measure containers awaiting on-dock trains at a particular moment; they are not an average waiting time and do not establish that every container in the inventory is overdue.
Class I railroads BNSF (NYSE: BRK-B) and Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) serve the southern California port complex.
“Strong international volumes have tightened rail car supply, but Union Pacific’s buffer resources have positioned us well to maintain fluidity throughout the extended international peak,” a UP spokesperson said in an email statement to FreightWaves. “Strong westbound volumes are also supporting car supply. We continue to pull consistently from the docks and leverage our ICTF facility to keep freight moving, while maintaining the car supply needed to support fluid port operations.”
In addition to handling record cargo volumes, some Long Beach terminals are reaching 50% on-dock rail utilization.
“While average rail time remains under five days, some smaller inland rail hubs are experiencing longer delays than major destinations as the national rail network absorbs significantly more cargo,” said Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Noel Hacegaba, in an email to FreightWaves. “That is why we are committed to enhancing the efficiency of our operations with the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility, which will reduce the time it takes to move cargo from ship to rail from four days to 24 hours.”
Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka is scheduled to speak with FreightWaves later Wednesday. FreightWaves has also reached out to BNSF for comment.
The buildup of containers on terminals has not been accompanied by evidence of a comparable offshore vessel queue. The Dwell’s separate congestion tracker reported one ship awaiting a berth during the week of Oct. 26, based on Maritime Administration and Marine Exchange data.
A possible labor disruption could add pressure in the coming days. The Pacific Maritime Association warned Oct. 27 that a potential Nov. 1 strike involving approximately 250 port watchmen could affect eight container terminals. Members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 26 voted to approve a walkout as soon as Sunday.
According to the employer association, the terminals handle roughly 85% of Long Beach cargo and 33% of Los Angeles cargo.
This article was updated on Oct. 28 to add comments from Union Pacific. and the Port of Long Beach.
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Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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