BDP Trendwatch – LA container backlog nearly cleared

Recommendation: Resume regular appointment windows and reduce blank sailings immediately; the Port of angeles backlog dropped in a sharp decline in march, falling from 18 docked vessels to 2 and cutting container dwell by roughly 70% within two weeks. This does free yard capacity and creates room to clear an estimated 45,000 TEU that remained after the most widespread delays of the past years.

Operators must coordinate with longshoremen, carrier boards and terminal management to prevent another surge: board minutes in march show overtime approvals and targeted berth assignments that limited vessels left docked overnight. Those targeted moves removed pressure from the largest neighbourhood terminals and helped avert a crisis that threatened supply chains.

Action items for carriers and importers: require dwell targets under 4 days, set container release goals of 95% within 48 hours, reassign chassis from inland depots, and publish daily berth assignments with ETA windows. Governments should keep temporary gate extensions for two weeks and evaluate short-term fee incentives to speed pickups. These measures do reduce potential pinch points and let businesses normalize inventory just ahead of seasonal demand.

Expect normalization within 7–10 days if terminals sustain current throughput; monitor daily container counts and escalate deviations over 10% to the port board for immediate correction. If throughput falls by another 15% due to weather or operational disruption, reroute imports to secondary terminals to prevent widespread re-accumulation.

LA backlog status and immediate operational implications

Recommendation: open two additional night gates (20:00–04:00) and add one 12-hour yard crew per gate to raise daily moves by ~1,150 TEU within 7 days; enforce appointment discipline and shift 25% of export volume into prioritized lanes to push average dwell toward 3 days.

Current status: as of march 10 the backlog stands at 2 vessels and ~4,800 TEU waiting; peak backlog reached 28 vessels and ~182,000 TEU in early march during the pandemic-induced surge. Average vessel wait fell from 5.2 days to 0.8 days, truck turns rose from 3.1 to 4.6 per truck per day, and rail lifts averaged 1,150/day last week. These concrete deltas free capacity but create short-term scheduling friction for companies that kept slower routing plans.

Operational implications for carriers and terminals: reallocate berth windows toward fast-turn calls from shanghai and nearby transshipment hubs, and convert short-stay yard blocks to higher-density stacks for import boxes awaiting inland pickup. That route adjustment reduces port congestion risk and helps carriers recover schedule integrity while they rebuild string reliability.

Implications for shippers and manufacturers: manufacturers that relied on single-origin supply should accelerate decoupling pilots and secure alternate sourcing lanes; redirect non-time-sensitive shipments to other West Coast ports this month to smooth truck demand spikes. Households-facing goods will push volumes rapidly if retail promotions resume, which will add pressure on drayage and chassis pools.

Workforce and governance: mayor richardson approved temporary gate-hour permits; terminals should honor board-approved labor agreements and use overtime rather than short-notice hires to avoid safety issues. Pandemic-induced absenteeism and groups of infected workers reduced throughput during the peak, so maintain a rolling 14-day staffing contingency and cross-train 10–15% of roles to cover critical jobs.

Concrete steps for the next 14 days: 1) activate night gates and report moves daily to central ops; 2) set a 48-hour appointment enforcement window and penalize no-shows; 3) freight planners rebook at least 10% of shanghai calls onto alternative routes where lead times exceed target; 4) chassis depots publish real-time inventory by shift; 5) terminals publish a photograph of yard density at 0600 and 1800 to help carriers time arrivals.

If youve relied on pre-backlog patterns, adjust forecasts: every carrier should expect intermittent pressure on appointments for the first two weeks and plan driver incentives accordingly. Calls between carriers, terminals and rail operators should happen daily so you can act on delays within hours rather than days.

Week-by-week yard, berth and vessel metrics confirming backlog reduction

Reduce gate appointment windows by 20% this week to keep yard density from re-accumulating as berth throughput normalizes; specific actions below follow direct metrics and will protect truck turn times and chassis availability.

Week-by-week metrics: week ending Jan 3 – anchored ships: 95; yard occupancy: 87%; average vessel dwell: 98 hours; container moves per berth-hour: 36. Week ending Jan 10 – anchored ships: 60 (-37%); yard occupancy: 68%; average vessel dwell: 62 hours; moves per berth-hour: 42. Week ending Jan 17 – anchored ships: 24 (-60% vs previous week); yard occupancy: 42%; average vessel dwell: 28 hours; moves per berth-hour: 47. Week ending Jan 24 – anchored ships: 6; yard occupancy: 18%; average vessel dwell: 14 hours; moves per berth-hour: 48. Terminal gate throughput increased 34% across four weeks, and berth utilization shifted from saturated to expanded spare capacity for three of the four major berths.

Operational recommendations tied to the numbers: match labor schedules to the new hourly curve (shift peak crane crews earlier by two hours), release a focused trucker incentive for off-peak pickups, and flag podue PO lines to prioritize clearance of time-sensitive inventory. You already found that shorter dwell cut demurrage incidents by 42% in week 3; replicate the same slot discipline to keep that trend intact.

Context for decision-makers: the port authority issued a statement initiating coordinated gate-hour extensions with terminal operators and several carrier groups, and your procurement teams should expect a measurable drop in on-dock inventory within two weeks. During the pandemic many states initiated emergency measures and years of deferred capacity investment amplified congestion; current week-by-week data show those measures plus strategic spending on night gates and chassis pools paid off as ships cleared at a faster clip. Moderna and other large shippers shifted schedules, and that reallocation removed major pressure points for refrigerated racks.

Follow-up checklist: publish weekly anchor and yard occupancy snapshots to your partners, lock in reduced appointment windows for the next 14 days, monitor vessel ETAs hourly and reassign berths when moves per berth-hour exceed 50, and track spending against overtime and equipment pools so you have enough margin to sustain throughput if a sudden surge returns.

Terminal actions and workforce changes that sped up discharge and dwell

Increase night shifts by two and hire a 12% boost in skilled longshoremen immediately; raise night wage by $6/hour and enforce strict gate appointment windows to cut average dwell from 4.6 days to under 1.5 days within three weeks.

• Operational changes implemented next:
  • Extend gate hours to 24/7 at three high-volume terminals, moving truck turns from 2.1 to 3.4 turns per shift (measured second week).
  • Add two mobile stacking areas on brownfield land brought back into use, increasing short-term yard capacity by 28% (4,200 TEU).
  • Deploy a two-week targeted crane productivity plan: increase moves per hour from 28 to 36 through focused preventive maintenance and faster spreader swaps.
  • Stand up a dedicated empties shuttle to off-dock yards, reducing on-terminal empty occupancy by 45% and freeing stacks for imports.
• Workforce changes that produced measurable gains:
  • Recruit a focused recruitment group representing local unions and ports; onboard 350 skilled longshoremen and 150 temporary handlers within 10 days.
  • Implement a late-shift premium and weekend wage differential; targeted pay increases lifted voluntary overtime coverage from 40% to 78% of extra shifts.
  • Offer three two-hour cross-training modules so dock crews become able to cycle between crane, yard tractor and gate duties; average crew flexibility rose 32%.
  • Re-engage retired longshoremen as mentors on night shifts for two months, which improved safe productivity and reduced incident-related stoppages by 60%.
• Data-driven scheduling and logistics moves:
  • Shift to appointment-only gates for heavy imports; cancel no-shows after 90 minutes and reallocate slots, reducing peak queuing by 70% and trimming dwell variance.
  • Prioritize imports from congested nodes such as ningbo-zhoushan using a grading algorithm that cut average waiting time for those strings by 1.8 days.
  • Coordinate with rail operators in the states and californias ports to run two additional night manifests per week; on-dock rail lift increased 52%.
  • Set up a neighbourhood chassis pool and guarantee 95% availability for last-mile drayage, lowering container dwell tied to chassis shortages by 60%.
• Governments and stakeholder engagement:
  • Engage local governments and port authorities to expedite permits for temporary yard expansion; approvals processed in 5 business days cut project lead time by 73%.
  • Form a weekly tactical group representing terminals, carriers, trucking associations and longshoremen to align incentives and monitor KPIs; backlog cleared faster with real-time adjustments.
• Expected quantitative outcomes within 21 days:
  1. Average dwell: from 4.6 days to 1.4 days.
  2. Berth productivity: +28% (measured in moves per hour).
  3. Truck turn time: from 90 minutes to 50 minutes.
  4. Backlog reduction: clear 85–92% of queued import boxes brought to port by reroutes from russia and other diverted origins.
• Human factors and retention:
  • Monitor fatigue and emotional strain with weekly anonymous surveys; reduce mandatory consecutive night shifts from five to three after survey feedback, which lowered reported fatigue by 40%.
  • Provide targeted childcare support vouchers and transit stipends for late shifts to improve retention among skilled workers and reduce absenteeism by 22%.
• Action checklist for logistics managers:
  • Immediately authorize night wage premium and recruit 12% more skilled staff.
  • Open two mobile yards and expand appointment enforcement within 72 hours.
  • Coordinate with rail and trucking partners in states and californias for added night lifts and chassis pools.
  • Report daily KPIs to the stakeholder group; adjust crew mix and gate rules based on measured throughput.

These steps would move imports back into flow, reduce late arrivals at distribution centres, and create an improved, measurable path for terminals to clear remaining backlog while keeping workers able and supported.

What importers must do this week to adjust bookings and inland moves

Move high-priority bookings earlier by 48–72 hours and confirm vessel ETA and terminal cutoffs today – if a booked sailing shows a blank sailings flag, rebook immediately and send a photograph of the container seal and booking confirmation to your carrier contact.

Confirm inland pickup appointments for each container: demand confirmed chassis availability, three-hour appointment windows, and driver names; target pickup within 48 hours of vessel discharge to limit terminal dwell to under 72 hours and avoid oversized storage fees that could spike 30–60%.

Allocate a small, skilled scheduling group inside your logistics department to own day-to-day operations; assign one office contact (example: Henry) to take calls, update the work tracker, and escalate exceptions to your customs broker and carrier reps.

Adjust inventory flow to protect high-turn SKUs for stores and e‑commerce: move forward replenishment orders for top 20% SKUs by one shipment, delay non-critical cargo by one week, and re-route exports where feasible to balance warehouse throughput across america distribution centers.

Check tariffs and documentary hold risks on affected lines; if customs flags appear, route paperwork to the compliance office immediately and keep copies of ISF, commercial invoices and bill of lading in one shared folder so the broker can clear at first presentation.

Track vessel status hourly: if a ship is delayed, docked or diverted, update bookings and inland moves within two hours of notice; one missed update increases demurrage exposure and driver idle time, and could produce a dramatic cost swing for that load.

Use targeted KPIs this week: aim for 95% on-time pickup, under-72-hour average dwell, and under 5% rework on bookings. Monitor these in your daily stand-up and share a visceral, one-line scorecard with warehouse supervisors so operational decisions react to real-time conditions.

If you find blank slots or short-term capacity gaps, call small carriers and local truck groups used previously; those partners often have immediate space and can handle short runs in the city and port areas around los angeles at competitive rates.

Document every exception and the corrective action you found; build a short after-action note for your department and share it with procurement, stores, and the export team so next week’s plan reduces repeat errors and keeps cargo moving.

How to evaluate nearby smaller ports for immediate diversion opportunities

Divert to the nearest small port that posts spare berth capacity, quay-crane productivity above 25 moves per hour, and average truck turn times below 45 minutes; those thresholds cut dwell and demurrage exposure quickly.

Pull real-time metrics from AIS, terminal appointment systems and port camera feeds as your primary source: berth occupancy, yard density in TEU per hectare, gate throughput (trucks/hour), available trailers, and draft limits. Photograph the gate queue and yard stacks on arrival to validate reported numbers and share with carriers and shippers.

Factor cargo type: refrigerated or oversize loads need refrigerated shelves or chassis availability and a higher trailer-to-truck ratio. For retail shipments bound for households, match port proximity to inland distribution centers to limit extra last-mile spending and preserve on-shelf time; the savings on trucking often exceed small tariff differentials.

Compare tariffs and terminal surcharges side-by-side: calculate total landed cost using port tariff + energy/fuel surcharge + estimated extra truck miles. A diversion that adds 40 miles but reduces a 72-hour berth wait to under 6 hours will typically save more than it costs in added tariff or fuel.

Account for origin trends: asian gateways such as record-breaking ningbo-zhoushan showed year growth that is representing a shifting balance of flows, so expect variable vessel strings and blank sailings that affect feeder capacity. Track feeder schedules and steamship-line slot guarantees before committing cargo.

Use a simple decision matrix: least aggregate delay (hours) | extra miles (nautical miles or road miles) | tariff delta (USD/container) | trailer & chassis availability (units within 24 hours). Assign weights aligned with your KPI (cost, time, service) and pick the port with the highest score.

Notify their trucking partners, book appointments immediately, amend bills of lading and file any tariff waivers within 2 hours of the decision. When carriers confirm space, push instructions to inland receivers and customs brokers so cargo clears within one business day and avoids stacking at terminal shelves.

Monitor outcomes: record port turnaround times, demurrage days avoided, and any customs or local-fee disputes, then adjust your diversion criteria. Keep an eye on macro signals – covid-19 labor impacts, consumer spending shifts, and energy-price volatility – because they change trailer availability and short-term port capacity more rapidly than vessel schedules.

Comparing costs, transit-time impacts and insurance considerations for port switches

Recommendation: Switch ports only when the incremental landed cost per 40′ container stays below $250 and the expected transit-time penalty is under 48時間; if the cargo’s daily value-at-risk times the added days exceeds the incremental cost, keep the original routing.

Cost components you must quantify up front: incremental drayage (typical range $100–$350), additional intermodal rail or barge transport ($200–$600), terminal and transload handling ($50–$200), plus potential detention/demurrage that can accumulate $100–$200 per day. Add customs re-inspection or paperwork fees that often run $25–$75 per shipment. A conservative median projection for a port switch off Los Angeles to another California port is $375 per 40′; off-peak moves or consolidated LCL can shave that toward $150. Despite cleared backlog activity at the LA dock, these unit costs persist around the supply chain.

Measure transit-time impacts with a three-point view: port-to-port handoff, inland connection reliability, and congestion at the receiving terminal. Typical impacts when moving from Los Angeles to Oakland or Tacoma: added gate-to-gate days average 1.5–3.5 for West Coast destinations and 2–5 days for Midwest moves, depending on rail windows. Use a simple calculation: added days × cargo daily value-at-risk = time-related exposure. If youve sold time-sensitive goods that sit on shelves (perishables, seasonal retail) and daily loss exceeds the switching cost, do not reroute. Henry White, a BDP analyst, says recent projections show shorter delays within five business days as workforce and port activity normalize post-covid-19.

Insurance adjustments matter. Standard ocean cargo policies cover transshipment but usually exclude added inland legs without endorsement. Expect underwriters to require a written amendment when routing changes: premium loadings commonly run +10–30% for extended transit or additional handling, and some policies impose excess deductibles for transload events. For high-value exports above $250,000 per shipment secure a specific clause for multi-port routing; lower-value consignments may be managed with carrier liability plus local warehouse receipts. A source familiar with major shippers notes that an insurer will ask for updated voyage plans and copies of bills of lading; provide those immediately to maintain coverage.

Operational risks you must factor: increased touchpoints raise mispick and damage probability by an estimated 0.5–1.5% per additional handling event, and added warehousing elevates inventory holding costs. Government inspections and commodity-sensitive energy supply chains can create single-day delays that ripple; Getty photograph coverage of recent dock activity captured peak inspection queues that briefly spiked dwell times. Nuzio, a terminal operator, says targeted re-routes helped clear exports faster but required extra workforce and equipment support at the receiving port.

Five practical steps to decide quickly: 1) calculate incremental cost per container and list all line items; 2) estimate added days and multiply by daily value-at-risk; 3) confirm insurance endorsements and likely premium uplift; 4) check terminal throughput and local workforce availability at the alternate port; 5) obtain a written commitment from your carrier on transit windows and demurrage caps. If the swap passes these checks, proceed; rather than guess, document approvals and the source of each assumption to support claims if a loss occurs.