North America - Operational Update

In order to better inform you of the operational situation within USA and Canada, we would like to inform you that our Region North America - Operations & Customer Service Advisory notices are now posted directly to the website in the Offices and Local Information > North America > USA section. In particular, you can find them at the bottom of the Local Information page.

Those items where status has changed from the previous report are identified by an asterisk (*)

Terminal Operations:

LAX/LGB Terminal Update:

There are currently 35 ships* (-2 from Jan 29th) at anchor awaiting berths in LAX/LGB as of Friday Feb 12th.
All terminals continue to be congested due to the spike in import volumes. Customers are urged to expedite the pickup of import containers. Moreover, terminals are working with limited labor and split shifts (COVID-19 related). The demand for available labor affects all terminals turnaround time for truckers, inter terminal transfers, the number of daily appointments available for gate transactions and generates delays in vessels operations. There can be switching of vessel terminal assignments due to lack of space due terminal congestion that must be kept in mind when accepting over weight bookings that are supposed to be going on dock but end up in the wrong terminal or the UP off dock terminal. Hapag-Lloyd is currently shut out at some terminals limiting single empty returns and restricting dual transactions. Trucking is currently heavily delayed on all door and ramp intermodal moves.

Oakland Terminal Update:

Currently have 10 ships* (-1) at anchor in the San Francisco Bay as of Friday Feb 12th. Vessel bunching continues with 10% labor reduction due to COVID concerns and ships coordinating at berth plug in for cold ironing. Move count for Oakland is up, especially the amount of restows as some vessel strings have also diverted to call Oakland in advance of LAX/LGB adding to the number of ships off pro forma. PMA is working to get more labor through equipment operator training to expand the pool of labor. All berths are occupied.

New York Terminal Update:

Berth congestion has slightly decreased with vessel waiting upwards of 1-2 days for a berth at various terminals. Main factors causing the congestion are weather related delays. Expect this congestion to last into next week. Increased dwell times for import volumes and large inventories of empty containers continue to impact operations at all terminals. Gate turn times for truckers continue to be above normal for all terminals. All terminals are opening during ILA holidays on 2/12 and 2/15, and most are offering Saturday gates and some extended hours to help diffuse volumes and reduce trucker wait times. Reported COVID cases continue to increase amongst ILA labor force, but currently not creating any labor shortages.

Savannah Terminal Update

Currently 16 ships* (+6) at anchor as of Friday, Feb 12th. Persistent fog closures this week has caused congestion on the terminal. Imports dwelling are being moved to Ocean Terminal for pick up to make room for incoming imports in the pads. Due to lack of fluidity, terminal is now very congested. Port will soon implement receiving for one ship at a time. Extra loader vessels continue arriving at the port leading to berth congestion.

Canadian Terminal and Rail Delays Update:

Terminals:

High yard utilization at all terminals in Vancouver as a result of high import volumes. Expected to last well into Q2. Productivity has fallen due to reduced car supply and delayed vessels.

Berth delays at VAN and PRR are long with vessels being held off berth for days.

Dwell time at the Port Terminals:

• Halifax – 1.9 Days*
• Montreal – 3.2 Days
• Vancouver – 3.0 Days*
• Prince Rupert – 9.8 Days*

Rail:

Severe cold weather across Canada has resulted in shorter trains and reduced speeds with both CN and CP. This will continue for the balance of the week.

Dwell time at the Rail Terminals:

• Montreal – 1.6 Days*
• Vancouver – 6.0 Days*
  
  

Intermodal Operations:

Capacity limitation in certain markets due to import volume spikes and severe drivers’ shortage. Please find main markets, and estimate lead-time to secure capacity below (Note: Lead time refers to timeframe to secure truck power, it is not dwell time):

Market / Average 12-days+:
o Los Angeles, CA (30 days +) - Long Beach, CA (30 days +) - Atlanta, GA (15 days) - Baltimore, MD (14 days) - Memphis, TN (14 days) - New York, NY (15days) - Norfolk, VA (14 days) - Savannah, GA (15 days)

Markets / Average 7-days+:
o Charleston, SC - Charlotte, NC - Columbus, OH* - Dallas, TX - Houston, TX - Jacksonville, FL - Miami/PT. Everglades, FL - Kansas City, MO* - New Orleans, LA - Philadelphia, PA - Seattle, WA - Tacoma, WA

Markets / Average 4-days +:
o Birmingham, AL - Boston, MA* - Buffalo, NY* - Chicago, IL - Cincinnati, OH - Council Bluff, IA - Greensboro, NC - Greer, SC - Huntsville, AL - Indianapolis, IN - Laredo, TX - Louisville, KY - Minneapolis, MN - Oakland, CA - Pittsburgh, PA - Portland, OR - Salt Lake City, UT - Santa Teresa, NM

Chassis Pools:

• Minneapolis (USMES) – Deficit on all chassis types, longer dwells on street.
• Chicago (USCHI) – Constrained on 20’/40’* chassis due to surge in demand.
• Detroit (USDET) – Deficit on 40’/45’ chassis due demand and street dwells.
• Omaha (USOMA) – Deficit on 40’/45’ chassis due to street dwells.
• Tacoma (USTIW) – Constrained on all chassis sizes at certain terminals due to restricted receiving
• Oakland (USOAK) – Constrained on all size types chassis due high demands.
• Los Angeles / Long Beach (USLAX/USLGB) – Pool of Pools seeing stressed chassis inventory in all terminal locations.

Railway Operations:

Please Note: Current average dwell times for Hapag-Lloyd boxes at several terminals / ramps. Includes, MH, rail and truck moves.

• New York, NY - Average 6.4 days*
• MMR New York (Elizabeth Marine Terminal-Rail) – Average 3.0 days*
• Long Beach, CA – Average 10.7 days*
• Los Angeles, CA – Average 13.6 days*
• Charleston, SC – Average 2.7 days*
• Savannah, GA – Average 5.3 days
• Norfolk, VA – Average 3.3 days*
• Kansas City, MO – Average 5.6 days*
• Chicago, IL - Average 5.9 days*
• Memphis, TN – Average 2.3 days*
• Detroit, MI – Average 5.7 days*