Dear Valued Customer,
The strike at U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports continues as of Wednesday. U.S. West Coast, Canada gateway, non-ILA port contingency modes and routes are now seeing congestion increase due to volume shifts. C.H. Robinson remains in contact with ocean carriers and port providers in order to assist any customers with impacted containers.
OCEAN
Container dwell times are increasing at USWC ports, including Los Angeles/Long Beach. As more containers continue to flow into USWC, expect dwell times to continue to rise and additional congestion across rail and transload services.
A number of Ocean carriers have declared Force Majeure for shipments to, from, or moving within USEC and USGC ports. Force majeure allows carriers to bypass FMC regulations and temporarily suspend contracted routing obligations. Impacts on active shipments can include price increases without the regular 30 days’ notice and cargo being offloaded at an alternate location. Since the carriers’ responsibility ends at the alternate location, it would be the customer’s responsibility (and cost) to retrieve the container from the alternate port.
Specific details on price increases and route changes will vary and be communicated differently by carrier. Your C.H. Robinson representative will have details on specific impacts to your freight.
INTERMODAL
Rail congestion is contributing to increased dwell at USWC ports as of Wednesday as containers await rail car capacity. A fire on the BNSF southern transcon route (Southern California to Chicago) interrupted traffic on Tuesday. This, along with any additional service interruptions that may occur across other railroads, will impact crew and equipment availability and may delay container movement in the region.
TRUCKLOAD
Truckload capacity currently remains steady and available across impacted regions. Expect load to truck ratios to increase around USWC ports as additional truck and transload services are needed. Road closures in the southeast U.S. due to Hurricane Helene may impact transit times for cargo being diverted to alternate modes and ports in that region.
C.H. Robinson’s supply chain experts are actively assisting customers with freight that may be impacted with alternate options, including air and transloading.
For up-to-the-minute updates from each organization, use the links below:
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International Longshoremen's Association
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United States Maritime Alliance
Please stay in close contact with your C.H. Robinson team for continued updates in this evolving situation and for help navigating any impacts to your supply chain. We are available and committed to delivering competitive alternative options across all impacted geographies.
Thank you for being a valued customer.
Sincerely,
C.H. Robinson