If volumes are up, why isn't congestion worse at the docks?
Cargo owners and carriers have spread volume across more West Coast and Gulf entry points than in prior peak cycles, which has kept vessel queuing at LA/Long Beach from reaching the levels seen in past surges. That diversion strategy worked at the berth level, but it shifted pressure downstream — containers are clearing the docks faster than rail and drayage networks can absorb them.
| Port | Period | Volume | YoY/Period Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | May 2026 | 840,165 TEU | +17% YoY |
| Long Beach | June 2026 | 415,677 TEU | +16.4% (record June) |
- Rail ramp dwell times have extended as containers pile up waiting for loading, a shift from the vessel-side congestion that defined earlier 2026 peaks.
- Labor availability on the rail and intermodal side has been cited as a contributing factor to the load-out backlog.
- Drayage capacity constraints (see chassis and driver availability) compound the rail bottleneck, since delayed rail loading keeps containers — and the chassis under them — in the yard longer.
What This Means for Inland Movement
A bottleneck that moves from vessel to rail changes which mitigation tactics actually help. Port diversion strategies that worked for berth congestion do not relieve rail dwell, since the same national rail capacity serves multiple gateways. Shippers who diversified ports to avoid LA/Long Beach vessel delays may now be encountering similar rail-side delays at their alternate port of entry.
What Shippers Should Do
- Don't assume diverting to a less-congested port avoids delay entirely — check rail ramp dwell at the destination port, not just vessel wait times.
- Build extra buffer into inland transit estimates for cargo moving by rail out of LA/Long Beach through Q3, given the shift in bottleneck location.
- Where transit time is critical, compare drayage-direct routing against rail for the final inland leg, since rail dwell may now exceed the time savings rail normally offers.
- Monitor appointment availability separately for vessel discharge and rail loading — a smooth vessel unload no longer guarantees a smooth onward move.