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 (*)

With the large number of congested ports and ships awaiting berths, please understand that the dates for arrivals / departures and cut-offs are constantly changing. Please check our Online Business section regularly for updates on this information.

Terminal Operations:

LAX/LGB Terminal Update:

There are currently 22 ships (+2) at anchor awaiting berths in LAX/LGB as of Friday May 21st. All terminals are extremely congested due to the spike in import volumes and basis current projections the congestion is expected to last until through the summer.

Changes of destination (COD's) and container "dig outs" are restricted due to lack terminal space and customers are urged to continue to expedite the pickup of their import containers and inform any COD requests at least four working days before the start of vessel operations. The demand for available labor while improving, still affects all terminal operations, turnaround time for truckers, inter terminal transfers, the number of daily appointments available for gate transactions and delays in vessels operations.

Due to terminal congestion, there are still vessels switching terminal assignments. This must be kept in mind if doing OOG and overweight 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 most terminals facing extremely limited single empty return options and restricted mainly to dual transactions. Local trucking delays have been considerably reduced and are expected to continue improving in the upcoming month.

The LAX/LGB rail operations from all terminals continue to deteriorate due lack of rail capacity and railcars from the UP rail. This is affecting all on/off dock intermodal.

Oakland Terminal Update:

Currently there are 20 ships (-3) at anchor or drifting in the San Francisco Bay area as of May 21st. One of five berths at OICT is scheduled to be available at the end of May with three new cranes in operation.

Massive import volumes combined with labor shortages are the biggest drivers of continued congestion and vessel operations delays. While exports and empty inventory have eased recently, congestion focuses on the import surge over the last month. On terminal imports are averaging up to 50% over previous months.

Alternative gate hours continue to have low trucker participation. Vessels will be delayed in order to decrease terminal dwell, make room for incoming imports and keep terminals fluid as possible. Yard rehandling and restows on vessels due to change of rotation are creating further delays. All berths remain occupied.

New York Terminal Update:

No berth congestion this week, however 2 ships are at anchor as of May 21st. Terminal yard utilization continues at manageable levels even though import dwell has increased slightly. Empty volumes continue to be an issue but extra loaders are being arranged on a weekly basis to help manage growing empty stock levels, and additional depot space has been procured within the port which will give truckers another option for the return of empties. Terminal gate turn times are currently at an acceptable service level.

Known cases of COVID amongst ILA are not having any major impact on labor availability or terminal productivity.
Savannah Terminal Update

Currently 7 ships (+5) at anchor as of May 21st. Volumes continue to be steady with high levels of import containers on terminal. Intermodal rail volumes are now moving out within 72 hours max with exception of Atlanta. NS metering due to delays with congestion in the area.

Canadian Terminal and Rail Delays Update:

Terminals: Vancouver, Prince Rupert

High yard utilization at all terminals in Vancouver as a result of increased import volumes. Expected to last well into Q3. Vessel productivity and yard productivity has improved significantly. Berth delays continue in VAN however these delays have been reduced to 2 to 4 days. PRR yard productivity and berth availability has improved significantly. No delay to vessel berthing.

Terminals: Montreal

Operations at the Port of Montreal continue to work through the backlog of vessels resulting from the 5 day work stoppage in late April. Yard utilization remains high however all terminals are reporting strong productivity. Current rail dwell on terminal has improved to 4.2 days from previous update.

Dwell time at the Port Terminals:

Halifax – 4.9 Days*
Montreal – 4.2 Days*
Vancouver – 2.5 Days
Prince Rupert – 8.8 Days*

Dwell time at the Rail Terminals:

Montreal – 1.3 Days
Vancouver – 5.2 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+:

• Los Angeles, CA (12 days +*) - Long Beach, CA (12 days +*) - Atlanta, GA (15 days) - Charleston, SC (12 days) - Norfolk, VA (14 days) - Savannah, GA (15 days)

Markets / Average 7-days+:

• Baltimore, MD (10 days) - Boston, MA (7 days) – Buffalo, NY (7 days) - Charlotte, NC (8 days*) - Columbus, OH (7 days) - Dallas, TX (9 days) - Denver, CO (7 days*) - Houston, TX (7 days) - Jacksonville, FL (8 days) - Louisville, KY (10* days) - Miami/PT. Everglades, FL (7 days) - Philadelphia, PA (8 days) - Seattle, WA (10 days) - Tacoma, WA (10 days) - Salt Lake City, UT (7 days) - Memphis, TN (7 days*) - New York, NY (7 days*) - Portland, OR (8 days)

Markets / Average 4-days +:

• Birmingham, AL - Chicago, IL - Cincinnati, OH - Council Bluff, IA – Detroit, MI - El Paso, TX -Greensboro, NC - Greer, SC - Huntsville, AL - Indianapolis, IN - Laredo, TX - Minneapolis, MN - Oakland, CA - Pittsburgh, PA - Santa Teresa, NM - New Orleans, LA - Saint Louis, MO- Kansas City, MO

Chassis Pools:

With the recent unprecedented Import volumes, there is currently a historically high demand for chassis throughout the USA. This demand has shown to be persistent on 40ft chassis and intermittent on 20ft chassis. In order to minimize any negative impact on supply chains, customers are asked to take immediate steps to reduce container and chassis off terminal dwell time. This includes all inland terminals as well as port terminals. Without a significant reduction in the dwell times, truckers may face serious challenges and delays in securing good order chassis as long as this surge in imports continues.

• Minneapolis (USMES) – Constrained on 40’ chassis..
• Chicago (USCHI) – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
  
• Detroit (USDET) – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
• Indianapolis (USIND) – Constrained on 40
• Memphis (USMEM) – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
• Denver (USDEN) – Constrained on 40’ chassis. Units going direct to ground.
• Seattle (USSEA) – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
• Tacoma (USTIW) – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
• Los Angeles / Long Beach (USLAX/USLGB) – Deficit on 20’/40’ chassis.

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 6.3 days
• MMR New York (Elizabeth Marine Terminal-Rail) – Average 1.6 days*
• Long Beach, CA – Average 11.9 days*
  
• Los Angeles, CA – Average 7.6 days
  
• Charleston, SC – Average 7.4 days*
• Savannah, GA – Average 6.0 days
  
• Norfolk, VA – Average 6.4 days*
  
• Kansas City, MO – Average 10.1 days*
  
• Chicago, IL - Average 6.9 days
• Memphis, TN – Average 4.5 days*
  
• Detroit, MI – Average 4.8 days*
• Dallas, TX – Average 2.6 days*