35,000 Containers Stuck as LA–Long Beach Rail Backlog Surges

Backlog grows as nearly 35,700 containers await rail service at LA–Long Beach

Nearly 35,700 import containers were waiting for on-dock rail service at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on Oct. 26, as record cargo volumes and reported railcar shortages slowed the movement of freight inland.

The buildup is adding pressure to Southern California’s intermodal network and could affect the timing of freight moving from the docks to inland distribution centers. For truck drivers, the congestion is primarily a rail-side problem, but extended container dwell can also limit terminal space and complicate appointments, chassis availability and overall freight flows.

The ports counted 35,688 containers awaiting rail movement on that date, according to a compilation of the ports’ daily rail reports. Of those containers, 10,562 had been on the terminals for at least nine days.

The figures count individual containers rather than twenty-foot-equivalent units, or TEUs, the standard measurement used to report port cargo volumes. They also represent a snapshot taken on Oct. 26, not an average waiting time. The count does not mean every container in the inventory was overdue for pickup.

Los Angeles sees heavier concentration of long-waiting containers

The backlog was more pronounced at the Port of Los Angeles. Of the 19,626 containers waiting for trains there, 8,133 had been on the terminals for nine days or longer. That represented 41.4% of the rail-bound inventory.

At Long Beach, 16,062 containers were awaiting rail service, including 2,429 that had reached the nine-day threshold. The share of longer-waiting containers was 15.1% at that port.

BNSF Railway and Union Pacific serve the San Pedro Bay port complex. Union Pacific said strong international volumes had tightened railcar availability but that its available buffer resources were helping maintain fluidity. The railroad said it continued pulling containers from the docks and was using its Intermodal Container Transfer Facility to support freight movement.

BNSF did not provide additional comment beyond customer advisories.

Heavy cargo volumes increase pressure on terminals

The rail backlog follows record monthly cargo volumes at both ports in September. Los Angeles handled approximately 1.04 million TEUs, while Long Beach processed 997,177 TEUs.

The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association reported that average dwell for rail containers across the port complex rose to 7.19 days in September, up from 6.75 days in August. Average dwell for containers leaving by local truck increased to 3.18 days from 2.95 days.

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said the two ports had each handled about 4 million TEUs over a four-month period. He said truck dwell had remained relatively stable at roughly three and a half days over the previous 90 days, while rail dwell was also stable at more than five days, although both figures were higher than port officials would prefer.

Freight broker C.H. Robinson identified Southern California intermodal railcar shortages as a constraint in its October market update. The company said limited equipment availability was extending import dwell and slowing inland transportation. Empty-container repositioning was also complicating equipment flows, while containers destined for local delivery by truck were moving relatively normally by comparison.

Rail equipment availability remains a key issue

Seroka said an imbalance between import and export traffic had slowed rail movements. Importers have been bringing in more cargo than usual for the season, increasing demand for rail equipment and putting additional pressure on the network.

He said the ports had seen a sharp increase in westbound train assets arriving over the previous three weeks, describing the change as a rapid correction in equipment availability. The additional rail capacity could help reduce the number of containers waiting on the terminals if it continues at a sufficient pace.

Long Beach officials also pointed to longer-term infrastructure work. Port Chief Executive Noel Hacegaba said average rail time remained under five days, but some smaller inland rail hubs were seeing longer delays as the national rail network handled higher volumes. The port is developing the Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility, which is intended to reduce the time required to move cargo from ship to rail from about four days to 24 hours.

Some Long Beach terminals are reaching 50% on-dock rail utilization, according to port officials. Greater use of on-dock rail can reduce the need to transfer containers by truck to off-dock rail facilities, but it also makes railcar supply and terminal processing speed increasingly important to overall fluidity.

Potential labor disruption could add pressure

The container buildup has not been accompanied by evidence of a comparable queue of ships waiting offshore. A separate congestion tracker recorded one vessel awaiting a berth during the week of Oct. 26.

However, the Pacific Maritime Association warned on Oct. 27 that a possible strike involving approximately 250 port watchmen could affect eight container terminals beginning as soon as Nov. 1. Members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 26 voted to authorize a walkout. The terminals involved handle about 85% of Long Beach cargo and 33% of Los Angeles cargo, according to the employer association.

Any interruption would come as the ports work through elevated import volumes and rail-related delays. For carriers and drivers serving the complex, the key operational issue remains how quickly containers can move off marine terminals and into the rail and truck networks.