The USA import surge continues to cause logjams throughout the global supply chain. For the week ending January 8, there were 35 vessels at anchor awaiting berths at Los Angeles/Long Beach. According to carrier and terminal sources, the following issues persist:
Terminals are short staffed and alternating shifts due to COVID-19
The staffing and hours issues have a snowball effect:
Trucker turn times have increased
Internal terminal transfers are slower
Number of daily appointments reduced
Reduced terminal space due to congestion
As reported by the JOC, the delays are perpetuating problems for rail operations at the terminals as well. LA/LGB terminals are currently experiencing an average 16+ day delay. Additionally, the capacity limits in certain markets due to increased demand and trucker shortages are causing additional backlogs and delays. As a result of these rail delays, some carriers have limited or cancelled their IPI service and are prioritizing Cy/Cy bookings over IPI bookings. Prioritizing Cy/Cy bookings will theoretically enable the carriers to turn containers faster.
The below stats compiled from some of our suppliers, provides current lead times to secure dray carriers and to arrange container delivery (lead-time refers to securing of power equipment, not the dwell time in the port or terminal):
Markets Averaging 12+ Days:
Savannah – Memphis – Baltimore – Atlanta – Norfolk – New York
Markets Averaging 7+ Days:
Boston – Cincinnati – Buffalo – Chicago – Kansas City – Tacoma – Seattle – Dallas – LA/LGB – Philadelphia – Houston – Council Bluffs – Charleston – Charlotte – Jacksonville –
Miami / Port Everglades
Markets Averaging 4+ Days:
Cleveland – Columbus – Detroit – Indianapolis – Minneapolis – Pittsburgh – Birmingham – Greensboro, NC – Greer, SC – Huntsville, AL – Louisville – Denver – Santa Teresa – Laredo – Portland – New Orleans - Oakland
Congestion persists at all main terminals and at inland rail ramps. Please see below for current averages as of the first week of January:
Halifax – Average 5.9 days (T), 5 days at ramp: total 10.9 days
Montreal – Average 2.6 days (T), 6.1 days at ramp: total 8.7 days
Vancouver – Average 2.5 days (T), 12.9 days at ramp: total 15.4 days
New York – Average 6.1 days (T), 3.1 days at ramp: total 9.2 days
Charleston – Average 3.2 days (T), 3.2 days at ramp: total 6.4 days
Savannah – Average 4.9 days (T), 2.8 days at ramp: total 7.7 days
Norfolk – Average 3.8 days (T), 5.6 days at ramp: total 9.4 days
Kansas City – 7.2 days ramp
Chicago – 8.1 days ramp
Memphis – 5 days ramp
Council Bluff – 7.4 days ramp
Detroit – 6 days ramp
It is anticipated that this import surge will continue as long as COVID-19 forces North American consumers to spend their income on merchandise rather than on services and experiences.
Regardless, we are here for you and are working diligently on minimizing the impacts to your operations. If you have any questions, please contact your South East World Wide, Ltd. Sales Representative.