- 22 October 2024
Rail Congestion Impacting US West Coast Shipments
Issue Date: October 22, 2024The railroad interchanges at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been experiencing extremely high levels of congestion recently. This congestion is causing delays for shipments that depart from or arrive at inland points such as Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, and Memphis. Off-dock import shipments are experiencing delays of up to 10 days in being moved from the port terminal to the rail staging area, followed by another 7 to 10 days to be loaded onto a railcar and moved out on a train. Export shipments are being delayed by 7 to 10 days as outbound trains wait for clearance to depart for the port terminals.
A few factors have contributed to the current situation:
- Cargo is shifting to West Coast services to avoid strike-related port closures on the East Coast.
- There is front-loading ahead of the normal peak season to avoid potential tariff increases post-US election.
- Ocean carriers have been adding extra loaders in the transpacific trade lane over the past few months, resulting in record container numbers arriving at the terminals in Los Angeles and Long Beach, the highest seen since COVID.
Contingency options for urgent shipments:
- Exports: Direct drayage can be arranged from the cargo origin point to the load port on the West Coast to bypass rail delays.
- Imports: If ocean carrier conditions are met, diversions can be requested. This allows for containers to be terminated at the port of arrival instead of continuing via rail to their original destination. Expedited drayage or cargo transloading and FTL trucking can then be arranged for final delivery.
- If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to your local CaroTrans team.