June San Pedro Bay Ports Dwell Time High

June 2022

Contact: Natasha Villa

nvilla@pmsaship.com

Container dwell time remained high in June for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, reaching highest levels ever for rail-bound cargo.

Through the month of June, containers slated to depart San Pedro Bay ports via rail remained on terminals for an average of 13.3 days, up from the already very high average of 11.3 days seen through the month of May. 13.3 days is the highest average dwell time observed since PMSA began tracking this data in January 2021. Truck-bound containers leaving the San Pedro Bay ports for local destinations remained at terminals for an average of 5.5 days. That’s slightly up from 5.3 days the month before but higher than the pre-pandemic average of 2-3 days.

Container dwell time is defined by the time in between when a container is unloaded from a vessel to the time it is loaded onto a truck or railcar for departure. It is a useful metric that provides insight on efficiencies at multiple parts of supply chain.

“Long dwelling rail cargo on marine terminals negatively impacts terminal capacity and can slow vessel discharge and loading operations, stated Jessica Alvarenga, Manager of Government Affairs at the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. “It is important to improve supply chain efficiency by decreasing dwell time,” explained Alvarenga. “Terminals were not designed and should not be used as storage facilities to store containers for long periods of time. They should function as transit points. The current problem with long dwelling rail cargo is symptomatic of broader supply chain problems. We hope this isn’t a reflection of what the holiday peak season has in store for our terminal operators,” shared Alvarenga.