San Pedro Bay Ports Truck Dwell Time Remains Steady While Rail Dwell Time Continues to Rise for Month of February
February 2024
Through the month of February, cargo traveling through the San Pedro Bay Port Complex and destined for local delivery via truck spent an average of 2.82 days at port terminals. The February figures remained fairly consistent with January’s average of 2.89 days. These truck dwell times for 2024 are near the historical, pre-pandemic average of 2-3 days.
Dwell time for rail-destined cargo saw an uptick in February with cargo spending an average of 6.26 days at terminals, compared to 4.72 days during the previous month. The February rail dwell increase indicates that rail cargo is experiencing an increase in congestion.
A factor contributing to the average dwell time for local and rail-bound containers is the proportion of containers that dwell for five or more days. In February, while 5.9% of local, trucked containers dwelled for more than five days; 45.9% of rail-bound containers dwelled for five or more days.
"Truck dwell times continue to remain fairly steady from month to month,” stated Natasha Villa, External Affairs Manager of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA). “However, dwell time for rail-destined cargo saw an unexpected increase, which may have been partially due to winter weather impacts. We will continue to monitor these numbers to see if any specific trend can be identified regarding rail dwell time changes.”
Contact: Natasha Villa
nvilla@pmsaship.com