Rail inventory builds at California ports

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach had 35,688 import containers waiting for on-dock rail service on October 26, FreightWaves reported, citing The Dwell’s compilation of daily port reports. Of those, 10,562 had been at terminals for nine days or more. The total covers individual containers rather than twenty-foot-equivalent units and is a snapshot of the inventory, not a measure of average waiting time.

Los Angeles accounted for 19,626 containers awaiting trains, including 8,133 that had waited at least nine days. Long Beach had 16,062 rail-bound containers, of which 2,429 had reached that threshold.

Pacific Merchant Shipping Association figures reported by FreightWaves put average rail-container dwell across the port complex at 7.19 days in September, up from 6.75 days in August. The association attributed the longer stays to heavy cargo flows and an extended peak shipping season. In its October market update, freight broker C.H. Robinson also reported that limited intermodal railcar availability in Southern California was slowing inland movement.

Kahului cargo expansion receives federal funding

The Hawaii Department of Transportation received $40,146,750 from the US Department of Transportation’s Port Infrastructure Development Program for a $56.1 million expansion at the Port of Kahului, Maui Now reported. The state Harbor Special Fund will provide the remaining $16 million.

The project includes improvements to an existing seven-acre cargo yard and development of a new 10-acre yard, along with terminal road work and dedicated pedestrian access for cruise passengers. State officials are targeting completion in 2029, according to Maui Now.

Burns Harbor awarded $11.2 million

Ports of Indiana-Burns Harbor received an $11.2 million award through the federal Port Infrastructure Development Program to modernize cargo handling, MarineLink reported. The Burns Harbor and Kahului projects are separate from the rail-container buildup at Los Angeles and Long Beach.

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