Average dwell times for containers through the San Pedro Bay Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach during May 2024 remained steady compared to April 2024 for containers moved by truck.
The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA) observed that there was, however, an increase in dwell times for containers transported by rail.
Containers imported to the San Pedro Bay Port Complex, and destined for local delivery via truck, spent an average of 2.47 days at port terminals in May. These May figures are nearly identical to April’s average of 2.50 days.
There has been a trend of consistently low truck dwell times in the past year when compared to the historical average of 3.46 days from 2016 to the present, which indicates that cargo is moving efficiently during this stage of the supply chain.
Rail-destined containers imported to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach saw a dwell time of 6.44 days at marine terminals.
This was a rise when compared to April’s 4.55 days for rail containers but compares favourably to the 7.02 days of rail dwell from earlier this year in March.
The average rail dwell time for May remains in a lower range than the average since 2021 of 7.61 days.
In October last year, the U.S. Department of Energy announced it would grant up to $1.2 billion to a public-private partnership formed to lead San Pedro Bay ports to create a hydrogen hub.
More recently, the Port of Long Beach announced it will receive $283 million from the federal government to assist in building ‘America’s Green Gateway’.