To understand why more than 100 container ships are waiting to enter US ports from Southern California to Savannah, Georgia, we should note the congestion that is building at another key junction of freight transportation, namely rail yards.
This month, the so-called dwell time for containers at 11 major railroad depots reached an average of 9.8 days; up from 6.7 days in May and 5.9 in February. The worst situation can be found in Los Angeles, where containers wait an average of almost 16 days before being picked up. The delays are also surging in Charleston, South Carolina, and in Detroit. The numbers show some improvements in Long Beach, California, and Kansas City.
Bnnbloomberg.ca reports that, on top of the strong demand for imports, a big part of the problem is a shortage of truck drivers to collect and drop off the 20- and 40-foot steel boxes.
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