Container Dwell Time Improves Slightly in December 2021
January 27, 2022
Contact: Natasha Villa, External Affairs Manager
nvilla@pmsaship.com
Through December, container dwell time – the amount of time a container stays at a marine terminal after it is unloaded from an ocean carrier and taken off the premises by a truck – decreased slightly compared to previous months for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. On average, containers leaving on trucks remained on terminals for 7.7 days, down from 8.4 days the month before.
Container dwell time for those leaving on rail remained the same. On average, containers leaving on rail remained on terminals for 3.5 days, the same as October.
“Notwithstanding the months’ long stints of high dwell time, the Port of Long Beach and Port of
Los Angeles processed an all-time record high volume of 20 million TEUs in 2021, a 15.8% year-over-year increase for San Pedro Bay,” stated Jessica Alvarenga, Manager of Government Affairs for the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. “Forces driving this influx of cargo include the ongoing need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical supplies, heightened e-commerce activity, and the holiday purchasing rush. Amid the influx, managing the flow of containers was slowed by transportation disruptions and warehouse availability.”
“While container dwell time did not worsen in the month of December, it was still high,” noted Alvarenga. “For reference, the average container dwell time for local containers leaving on trucks was under three days prior to the Covid-19 related surge. Despite the trend of high import dwell times, marine terminal operators and dock workers continue hard to handle all of the incoming cargo, processing record volumes of cargo through the San Pedro Bay ports.”
About the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA)
PMSA is an independent, not-for-profit association which represents owners and operators of marine terminals, ocean carriers, and vessels operating on the US West Coast. PMSA maintains offices in Oakland, Long Beach, and Seattle.