The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA) has reported that February dwell time data for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach continued to reflect surges in intermodal demand.
This surge comes in anticipation of the imposition of higher federal tariffs and steady local cargo flows in Southern California, reported PMSA.
While truck-destined container dwell times remained steady, terminals experienced an uptick in rail-destined containers and rail-cargo dwell time.
Following a short period of improvement after a significant spike in October 2024, rail-destined cargo dwell time increased to 8.00 days in February, up from 7.08 days in January and 6.53 days in December.
Cargo moving through the San Pedro Bay Port Complex via truck spent an average of 2.81 days at port terminals in February, an improvement from January’s 3.25 days.
READ: Slight rise in rail container dwell times at San Pedro Bay
“These fluctuations in rail dwell time have been consistent with recent container volumes, and as we approached lunar new year and the tariff headwinds,” stated Natasha Villa, External Affairs Manager of PMSA.
“We expect these dwell times to show improvements in the coming months.”
