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 50 (-1) container ships at anchor or drifting awaiting berths in LAX/LGB as of Friday Oct 15th. Ships are waiting average 9-12 days to catch a berth. Both ports are seeing record volumes month after month that challenge the existing port infrastructure. Port volumes are up more than 30% so far this calendar year. Port Delays forcing ships to wait at anchor are expected to continue for the remainder of the year.

Port of Long Beach did test a 24/7 gate model, but was not successful to implement a full program. Gates are still running as published and in line with Pier Pass program. Imports wait for an average of 6 days for a truck to pick up, and street dwells are up to 9 days on average. Import rail dwell is up to 14 days in the terminal complex. All terminals remain extremely congested and limiting the windows for export cargo acceptance depending their specific situation. Customers continue to be urged to expedite the pickup of their import containers and inform any import COD requests at least four working days before the start of vessel operations.

Hapag-Lloyd and the industry in general are facing limited single empty return options and many times these are restricted to dual transactions. Local trucking delays have been reduced and are being closely monitored given the lack of chassis affecting the industry. The scarcity of chassis is affecting all types of moves, from local deliveries to terminal moves to/from off dock rail ramps. The LAX/LGB rail operations from all terminals and the off dock ramps continue to deteriorate as demand exceeds capacity. Inland moves by rail are expected to continue seeing considerable delays.

New York / Philadelphia Terminal Update*:

New York:

There is currently 1 ship at anchor awaiting berth as of Oct 15th. High berth utilization and congestion continues at all terminals. During week 41, there was a high of 2 vessels reported at anchorage awaiting berths at various terminals. Yard utilization remains high in the New York area, and import dwell time continues to hamper terminal productivity. Empty loader vessels are being planned for the next 2 weeks to evacuate surplus empty equipment.

Savannah Terminal Update

Currently 29 ships (+4) at anchor as of October 15th. The terminal capacity is at about 85% utilization. Ships are delayed up to 8 days average awaiting berth assignment. The new first come - first serve started Aug 28th is making no difference thus far. Berth congestion continues with minimum 25 ships at anchor each day this week. Ongoing projects - GPA's Peak Capacity project: which will add 800,000 TEUS of annual capacity in two phases. Phase 1, which opens mid-December now (expansion behind 7-8-9), will deliver 3 new rubber-tired gantry (RTG) crane rows. Phase 2, to be complete in spring 2022 will add a 4th RTG. Berth 1 (17% complete) on schedule expected open 2023. Dredging resuming in October with minimal impacts to berthing as it is maintenance dredging only and will run thru Jan 2022.

Seattle Terminal Update*:

There are currently 11 ships (-1) at anchor awaiting berth as of Oct 15th. Terminals are operating at 90% utilization. Berthing delays in Seattle are up to two weeks at this time due to heavy volumes. Saturday gates at Husky are now being offered to alleviate backlog of imports through October. Husky is implementing a long stay import fee of 315.00/ctr for any import dwelling over 15 days. Fee must be paid to pick up load.
Terminals are not accepting empty containers until vessels sail making room for additional inventories. Additional space has been provided to hold empty and loaded containers at T-5 in Seattle and West Hylebos in Tacoma allowing some additional empty returns for Hapag-Lloyd.

NWSA investments in T-5 are not slated to fully open until 2022 which will bring much needed additional capacity to the region. Chassis counts in Tacoma have improved, however the pool is running 80% utilization while street dwell is running 8.4 days for 40’ chassis.

To aid in import container availability some T18 import loads are being moved to T5; please check T18’s website for confirmation of availability and which terminal the container is located. LFD will be extended accordingly, please be patient while information is updated:

• Appointments are not required for pick-up of “available” containers at T5
  
• There are no chassis available at T5, so secure a chassis prior to arrival
  
• Empty return shutouts at various terminals continue to tie up chassis and slow pace of import pickups

Houston Terminals Update:

Currently 8 ships (unchanged) at anchor as of October 15th. Barbours Cut terminal is at 95% utilization. Port of Houston is currently limiting vessel operations (discharge gangs) so as not to overwhelm the container pads. Container dwell times are on the rise, which exacerbates terminal capacity issues. PHA continues to move import containers to rail yard to make space on the terminal for working vessels. The rail yard is now up to 60% utilized.

Terminal is experiencing critical equipment shortages for chassis, gensets and reefer plugs. Reefers are dwelling from inability to pick up for various reasons, including chassis and gensets. Labor shortages continue in Houston for crane operators and occasionally truck drivers. Due to these limitations terminal is experiencing berth congestion, currently limited to max 3 days.

Canadian Terminal and Rail Delays Update:

Terminals: Vancouver, Prince Rupert

There are currently 5 ships at anchor for Vancouver as of Oct 15th. GCT continues to work vessels on a first come, first serve basis. Schedule adjustments are required to avoid anchoring and berth conflict. Yard utilization is presently at 94%. Empties on dock have been significantly reduced and presently stand at 68% of allocation.

Rail: Due to reduced rail velocity, daily rail production has been reduced to 35000ft per day, a reduction of 22% from the regular target. Rail dwells are presently at 3.4 Days

Terminals: Montreal

The labor situation in Montreal continues to negatively impact timely operations of vessels. This is expected to continue throughout the month of October. Vessels are also facing delays on the North Atlantic due to bad weather, resulted in delayed arrival.

Rail car supply is strong at all terminals however shortage of labor is impacting timely loading. Dwell for the past week is 4.5 Days.

Dwell times:

Halifax: Average - 6.5 days
Saint John: Average - 1.4 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 at the following link on our website. (Note: Lead-time refers to timeframe to secure truck power, it is not dwell time):

https://www.hapag-lloyd.com/en/services-information/operational-updates/north-america.html

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.

• Chicago (USCHI) – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
• Baltimore (USBAL) – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
• Indianapolis (USIND) – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
• Houston (USHOU) – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
• Detroit (USDET) – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
• Pittsburgh (USPIT) – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
• New York (USNYC) – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
• Seattle (USSEA) – Constrained on 20’ and deficit on 40’ chassis.
• Tacoma (USTIW) – Deficit on 20’ and 40’ chassis.
• Los Angeles / Long Beach (USLAX/USLGB) – Deficit on 20’ and 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 8.5 days*
  
• MMR rail New York – Average 4.0 days*
  
• Long Beach, CA – Average 12.6 days*
  
• Los Angeles, CA – Average 13.6 days*
  
• Charleston, SC – Average 10.8 days
  
• Savannah, GA – Average 7.7 days
  
• Norfolk, VA – Average 9.4 days*
  
• Kansas City, MO – Average 9 days
  
• Chicago, IL - Average 9.3 days
• Memphis, TN – Average 6.6 days*
  
• Detroit, MI – Average 6.5 days*
  
• Dallas, TX – Average 8.7 days*
  
• Houston, TX – Average 10.5 days*