LA/Long Beach: 14,500 rail boxes stuck nine days as the 20 November deadline nears
Fourteen thousand boxes, nine days, one train shortage: the strike deadline lands on a queue that is still growing
About 9,500 rail-bound import containers at the Port of Los Angeles and 5,063 at the Port of Long Beach had waited nine days or more for a train, gCaptain reported on 12 November. That is roughly 14,500 boxes sitting at the terminals for more than a week.
The number was much smaller in late October. On 26 October, FreightWaves counted 8,133 such boxes at Los Angeles and 2,429 at Long Beach, or 10,562 in total. Since then, the long-wait queue has grown by around 4,000 boxes. At Long Beach it roughly doubled.
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Our view is simple. The ports are bringing in cargo faster than the railroads can carry it inland. That is already costing shippers money in storage and missed delivery dates. The watchmen strike due after 20 November is a real risk, and it got bigger this week. But the rail queue is not a risk. It is happening now.
The volume is not slowing down
The Port of Los Angeles handled 1,026,872 TEU in October, according to gCaptain. A TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) is the standard measure of container volume; one 40-foot box counts as two. That makes October the port’s second-busiest month ever, after September’s record 1,042,652 TEU.
Port executive director Gene Seroka said: “On the heels of September’s all-time record, October makes it our second-best month ever.” He added: “What’s remarkable isn’t just the record volume but our ability to sustain this level of activity month after month.”
The split inside those numbers matters for anyone moving freight.
- Loaded imports rose 25% year on year to 538,620 TEU.
- Empty containers hit a monthly record of 373,271 TEU.
- Loaded exports fell 7% to 114,981 TEU.
Seroka said: “Exports have now declined year over year in six of the first 10 months here in 2026, as American farmers and manufacturers continue to face headwinds in overseas markets.” He also said: “If December also delivers, I believe this could be the busiest year in our port’s 118-year history.” gCaptain reports that November volumes are also shaping up to be strong, with strong shipments expected into early 2027.
So the cargo is heavy one way. Full boxes come in, empty boxes go out. Rail equipment that should be moving imports inland is tied up in a lopsided flow.
Why the trains cannot keep up
gCaptain reports that C.H. Robinson has identified a shortage of intermodal railcars in Southern California as a contributing factor. Intermodal railcars are the flat cars that carry containers on trains. C.H. Robinson’s own November market update, dated 5 November, puts it this way: “Limited railcar availability is contributing to elevated dwell time.” Dwell time is how long a container sits at the terminal before it leaves.
The averages show the gap between rail and truck. Citing the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, C.H. Robinson says rail-bound imports at the two ports “spent an average of 7.19 days at marine terminals in September.” Truck-bound imports averaged 3.18 days. FreightWaves reported the rail average was 6.75 days in August, so it was already rising before October’s surge.
Union Pacific, which serves the port complex along with BNSF, told FreightWaves that “Strong international volumes have tightened rail car supply,” though it said its buffer resources had positioned it well.
The Los Angeles snapshot in gCaptain shows how uneven the picture is. About 67% of import containers moved through LA terminals within four days. Another 11% took five to eight days. And 23% stayed nine days or longer. Most freight is moving. A large minority is badly stuck, and most of that is rail freight.
Trucks are not an easy escape. Paul Brashier, vice president of global supply chain at ITS Logistics, told gCaptain that “Port congestion at LA and Long Beach due to increased import volume and reduced driver capacity continues to be highly elevated.” He added: “With congestion reducing the amount of containers a driver can execute daily, shippers should be prepared to add additional trucking capacity to navigate these conditions through Lunar New Year.” Lunar New Year falls in February.
The strike risk got bigger this week
About 250 members of ILWU Local 26 work as watchmen at the two ports. They control and inspect truck and staff entries at terminal gates, provide security and track high-value cargo, according to Reuters, as published by Insurance Journal on 9 November. Their employer group, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), and the union have extended talks to 20 November.
The deadline has already moved more than once. A FreightWaves report on 2 November described an extension to 4 November, after an earlier 1 November deadline. The watchmen’s previous contract expired in July 2025. Members had authorised a possible strike before the 1 November deadline, according to PMA. Neither side has said publicly what they disagree on. FreightWaves reports Local 26 members earn about $170,000 a year on average.
The new fact is who else would stop work. gCaptain reports that longshore workers in Local 13 and marine clerks in Local 63 have indicated they would honour Local 26 picket lines. Longshore workers load and unload ships and run the yards. Clerks track the cargo. If they will not cross a picket line, a 250-person dispute becomes a terminal shutdown.
That would not hit both ports equally. PMA says the terminals covered by the watchmen handle roughly 85% of Long Beach cargo and 33% of Los Angeles cargo. Long Beach is also the port where the nine-day rail queue has grown fastest. A strike at Long Beach would hit a port that already has more than 5,000 boxes waiting over a week for a train.
There is a limit to the threat. The watchmen’s talks are separate from the main West Coast longshore contract, which runs to 2028 and covers about 22,000 workers at 29 ports, according to FreightWaves. Any action would be local, and the longshore workers would be honouring a picket, not striking over their own contract.
What this means for forwarders and shippers
First, plan for long rail dwell as the base case through November. If you have inland point intermodal (IPI) moves, where the ocean carrier books the rail leg to an inland city such as Chicago, Dallas or Memphis on one bill of lading, assume more than a week at the terminal. Tell customers now. C.H. Robinson advises watching terminal dwell and railcar availability when setting delivery dates, especially for fixed warehouse appointments.
Second, price the cost of waiting. C.H. Robinson notes that longer dwell can raise terminal storage costs. Check who pays storage on carrier-haulage IPI moves and whether free time is running out. Disputes over who pays for delays the shipper did not cause are easier to settle before the box lands than after.
Third, look hard at transloading for urgent freight. Transloading means moving cargo out of the ocean box into a domestic trailer or 53-foot container near the port, then sending it by truck or domestic rail. It costs more per box, but it can skip the on-dock rail queue. Trucking is tight too, so book early.
Fourth, think about routing for December and January sailings. Long Beach carries more strike exposure than LA, based on the PMA cargo shares. For freight not yet loaded in Asia, a Los Angeles terminal outside the dispute, or another gateway, may be worth a quote.
Fifth, exporters may find a small upside. Exports are down 7% at LA, and empties are at a record. Equipment for export bookings should be easier to find than space on an inbound train.
What we expect
Our prediction: a deal or another extension is announced before the 20 November deadline expires. The pledge from Locals 13 and 63 raises the cost of a walkout for everyone, which in our view makes both sides more likely to keep talking. If picket lines do go up, we expect no stoppage at the named terminals to last longer than 72 hours before 30 November.
We also expect the rail backlog, not the strike, to be the main source of delay and extra charges at Los Angeles and Long Beach through the end of November. With imports up 25% and the railcar shortage unresolved, we do not expect the nine-day queue to clear before December.
Sources
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