Top US Port Enlists White House Help to Clear Rail-Cargo Logjam
- Containers on L.A. docks waiting for trains is triple average
- Port working ‘around the clock’ with Union Pacific, BNSF
Shipping containers in the Port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California.
Photographer: Kyle Grillot/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The port of Los Angeles, the busiest in the US, has enlisted the help of the White House to clear a backlog of rail-bound containers that’s tripled since February, taking up space on its docks and causing congestion as the operation prepares for an early peak season.
There are more than 29,000 rail-container units on the ground, half of which have been waiting to be picked up for nine days or more, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka told reporters in a virtual briefing Tuesday. In January, the normal wait -- known as the dwell time - was about two days on average.