LA Ports See Increase in Wait Times for Cargo Stored at Docks

Ships await the offloading of cargo in Long Beach, Calif., on Jan 11, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

LOS ANGELES—The time containers are staying at ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach before being shipped by rail or truck increased again last month, according to the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association.

In March, containers leaving on trucks stayed at port terminals for more than six days, an increase of about half a day since February.

For cargo shipped by rail, the containers stayed on the docks for nearly eight days, up from five days the month before, the association said.

“Dwell time was already higher than usual and the increase in March did not help,” Jessica Alvarenga, the shipping association’s manager, said in a release. “Every part of the supply chain is being impacted by the delays, but it is important to continue moving cargo as efficiently as possible to ensure that people continue receiving goods at their doorsteps and shelves remain stocked.”

Before the pandemic, cargo waited an average of three days.

At the Port of Los Angeles, nearly 57,000 containers were waiting to be shipped domestically, according to the port.

Of those, about half had arrived within the past four days. Another 8,400 were waiting up to eight days. Nearly 19,000—or about 33 percent—were lingering at the docks for more than nine days.

The Port of Los Angeles is working to address dwell times, Port of LA Spokesman Phillip Sanfield told The Epoch Times.

“We continue to work with public and private stakeholders in the supply chain to minimize dwell times,” Sanfield said. “We meet throughout the week assessing the situation and looking for ways to improve fluidity.”

The number of containers moving by rail has increased and the port is also working with railroads to address the situation, Sanfield said.

At the Port of Long Beach, the number of lingering containers has increased by nearly 800 units since the beginning of April, reaching nearly 6,200.

Both ports continue to delay the implementation of a container dwell fee, now on hold until April 29 when the fee will be reconsidered.

“The executive directors of both ports will reassess fee implementation after monitoring data over the next week,” the Port of Long Beach announced April 22.

Gene Seroka, executive director for the Port of LA, briefed port commissioners April 28 about the increase in cargo at the docks.

Since October 2021, the number of containers waiting at the terminals has climbed primarily because of the recent activity around the rail product, Seroka said.

“Rail volume has increased six-fold in the last month and a half alone,” Seroka told commissioners. “It’s important we get this caught up.”