Containers Piling Up at U.S. Rail Yards Add to Port Strains
- Dwell times at rail depots are rising in 11 major cities
- Hapag-Lloyd sees Los Angeles backlog lasting to year-end
Shipping containers sit in a rail yard in Chicago on July 28.
Photographer: Scott Olson/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
To understand why more than 100 container ships are waiting to enter U.S. ports from Southern California to Savannah, Georgia, it helps to keep tabs on the congestion that’s building at another key junction of freight transportation: rail yards.
The so-called dwell time for containers at 11 major railroad depots reached an average of 9.8 days this month, according to a tally of its own boxes maintained by Hapag-Lloyd AG, the world’s fifth-largest container carrier. That’s up from 6.7 days in May and 5.9 in February.