LA-Long Beach Rail Backlog Hits 35,700 Containers as Record Volumes Strain Inland Freight

Nearly 35,700 import containers were awaiting on-dock trains at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach this week, as record cargo volumes and reported railcar shortages slowed inland freight movement. Of the 35,688 containers awaiting rail service on Oct. 26, 10,562 had sat on terminals for at least nine days, according to The Dwell's compilation of the ports' daily rail reports. Los Angeles was harder hit, with 8,133 of 19,626 rail-bound containers waiting nine days or longer — 41.4%, versus 15.1% at Long Beach. Average rail-container dwell across the port complex rose to 7.19 days in September from 6.75 days in August, per Pacific Merchant Shipping Association data. Both ports set monthly cargo records in September: Los Angeles handled about 1.04 million TEUs and Long Beach 997,177 TEUs. Freight broker C.H. Robinson flagged Southern California intermodal railcar shortages as a constraint in its October market update. Class I railroads BNSF (NYSE: BRK-B) and Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) serve the complex. The Pacific Maritime Association warned Oct. 27 that a possible Nov. 1 strike by roughly 250 port watchmen could affect eight container terminals handling about 85% of Long Beach and 33% of Los Angeles cargo.