North America Operational Updates

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 31 (-4 from Feb 15) ships at anchor awaiting berths in LAX/LGB as of Friday Feb 26th. All terminals continue to be congested due to the spike in import volumes. Changes of destination (COD's) and container "dig outs" are restricted due to terminal space. Customers are urged to continue to expedite the pickup of import containers and inform any COD requests at least four days before the start of vessel operations. Terminals continue to work 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. Due to terminal congestion, there can be switching of vessel terminal assignments. This must be kept in mind if doing 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 all terminals facing extremely limited single empty returns and restricted dual transactions.

Trucking continues to be heavily delayed due to lack of trucking power - generated by terminal congestion and COVID-19 - on all door and ramp intermodal moves. The UP inland ramps closures of last week due to weather have created a serious backlog in the on/off dock rail services ex SoCal to inland points to all main destinations.

Oakland Terminal Update:

Currently have 13 ships at anchor (+3) in the San Francisco Bay as of Friday Feb 26th. Vessel bunching continues with 10% labor reduction due to COVID concerns and ships coordinating at berth plug in for cold ironing. OICT has a berth out of commission due to new crane arrivals which are being assembled now. 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:
Currently 3 ships at anchor. Berth congestion has slightly decreased this week with some vessels waiting up to 24 hours for a berth at various terminals. Dwell times for import volumes continue to be high, and are being further impacted by embargoed inland rail destinations, and inconsistent supply of railcars.
Empty container inventories continue to increase and are having an adverse effect on terminal operations and productivity. Gate turn times for truckers continue to be above normal for all terminals. Most terminals are offering Saturday gates and some extended hours to help reduce trucker wait times.

Savannah Terminal Update:

Currently 16 ships at anchor. Vessels are up to 4 days waiting at anchor prior berth. Persistent fog closures has caused congestion on the terminal. Yard is extremely congested and port continues to move imports to Ocean Terminal to make room for incoming imports in the pads. Exports remain 2 ships open at any given time per service. Empties are a main focus in getting off the port – whether by ship or rail.

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 continues to be impacted as a resulted of reduced railcar supply and delayed ships

Berth delays at VAN and PRR continues with vessels being held off berth for days.
Dwell time at the Port Terminals:

Halifax – 4.5 Days*
Montreal – 1.7 Days*
Vancouver – 2.5 Days*
Prince Rupert – 1.5 Days*

Rail:

Weather has improved across Canada, allowing for increased train lengths and operations across the network.

Dwell time at the Rail Terminals:

Montreal – 1.2 Days
Vancouver – 3.3 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 - 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 - Miami/PT. Everglades, FL*

Chassis Pools:

Current chassis pool operations are improving in many markets. Below are the current locations where chassis inventory remains a concern. Shippers are urged to return containers to help improve the availability. Over 5000 chassis have been injected into various chassis pools across the US to keep up with the influx of imports. Repair vendors are working overtime and weekends to keep up with the requirements to provide safe and reliable assets.

• New York (USNYC) – Constrained on 40’ chassis due to surging demand and street dwell.
• Chicago (USCHI) – Deficit on 40’ chassis due to surge in demand.
• Detroit (USDET) – Deficit on 40’/45’ chassis due demand and street dwells.
• Cleveland (USCLE) – Constrained on 40’/45’ chassis due to demand and street dwells.
• Nashville (USBNA) – Deficit on 40’ chassis due to surge in demand.
• Tampa (USTPA) – Constrained on 40’ chassis due to demand.
• Dallas (USDAL) – Deficit on 40’ chassis due to demands.
• Kansas City (USMKC) – Deficit of 20’/40’ specifically at UP ramp, units are being grounded.
• El Paso (USELP) – Constrained on 40’ chassis due to demand and street dwell.
• 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, limited receiving windows for export.
• 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 6.7 days
• MMR New York (Elizabeth Marine Terminal-Rail) – Average 2.4 days*
• Long Beach, CA – Average 13.4 days*
• Los Angeles, CA – Average 9.8 days*
• Charleston, SC – Average 2.6 days
• Savannah, GA – Average 4.5* days
• Norfolk, VA – Average 3.3 days
• Kansas City, MO – Average 7.6 days*
• Chicago, IL - Average 6.3 days*
• Memphis, TN – Average 5.8 days*
• Detroit, MI – Average 4.8 days*