Rail dwell at LA-Long Beach ports rises to 6.75 days in August
The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association reported that rail-destined container dwell at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex rose to 6.75 days in August, up from 6.34 days in July. Truck-bound cargo dwell improved slightly to 2.95 days, while the ports handled near-record 1.88 million twenty-foot equivalent units in August.
Truck dwell measures the average time containers remain at marine terminals before pickup by local trucking providers. At 2.95 days, August’s figure was in line with the performance seen during much of the previous year, indicating that terminals continued to turn local cargo at a comparatively stable rate. Rail dwell reached 6.75 days in August, a 0.41-day increase from July and a high point relative to the past year, indicating that containers moving inland by rail remained at terminals for nearly a week on average before departure. The ports processed 1,875,899 TEUs in August, reflecting sustained import, export and transshipment activity despite pressure on inland rail capacity and terminal operations.
“Cargo volumes moving through the San Pedro Bay ports remain strong, with truck dwell holding steady and rail dwell experiencing some additional upward movement,” Natasha Villa, senior manager of public affairs for PMSA said.
Average local truck dwell was 2.95 days in August, down slightly from 3.03 days in July and broadly consistent with the sub-three-day levels recorded over the past year, the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association said. The slowdown comes after Class I carriers serving the ports, Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and BNSF (NYSE: BRK-B), saw their network performance slow in late spring on a then-modest surge of import traffic.
What we know
Rail-destined container dwell rose to 6.75 days in August
Rail-destined container dwell was 6.34 days in July
Average local truck dwell was 2.95 days in August
Average local truck dwell was 3.03 days in July
The ports processed 1,875,899 TEUs in August