SIMIC

SSA Marine, which operates container terminals in Seattle, Oakland, and Long Beach, said the three West Coast gateways are handling record import volumes as the eastbound trans-Pacific enters the traditional peak season, but by far the biggest operational issue at all three ports is excessive dwell times as importers are using the marine terminals as storage yards.

Ed DeNike, president of SSA Containers, said: "On the whole coast, it's the same issue. Imports are not being picked up. It's really a big issue."

Noting that imports will likely increase further in the coming three months, Mr DeNike said terminal operators could handle the volumes if importers picked up the containers within several days of discharge from the vessels as planned, rather than letting them sit for a week or longer. "It's not an issue of volume," he said in describing the congestion problem.

CEO of Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis, Alan Murphy, noted that port congestion is a global issue, but US West Coast ports have experienced more than their fair share.

"The congestion is caused by the confluence of multiple elements including, but not limited to, schedule (un)reliability, failure by shippers to pick up containers, lowered efficiency due to overcrowded terminals, and COVID restrictions, just to name a few," Murphy said.

Vessel bunching and terminal congestion surfaced this spring in Oakland as carriers deployed three new first-call inbound services to the Northern California port, along with several extra-loader vessels, to relive some of the pressure from Los Angeles-Long Beach.

The main issues in Seattle and Tacoma are excessive dwell times for local containers owing to warehouses that are rapidly filling up, and intermodal capacity shortages that are pushing up dwell times for rail containers.

Rail containers are backing up in Seattle-Tacoma and Los Angeles-Long Beach as BNSF and UP meter intermodal shipments from the West Coast so as not to overwhelm their ramps in the Midwest, which are experiencing congestion and chassis shortages.

However, capacity to handle both rail containers and containers for local delivery received a boost in both Seattle and Tacoma with the establishment of "surge" yards for the temporary storage of containers.

Port managers in Oakland and the NWSA said that although all their terminals are busy handling near-record container volumes, the ports are in constant communication with carriers looking for additional space.