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Maggie Mildenberger

US Port Review, November 2024

Updated: 2 days ago

Key Takeaways

  • East Coast and Gulf Coast Container Terminals remain open following a 3-day strike at the start of October.

    • The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) continues to finalize their new agreement with the USMX.

    • The current agreement will expire January 15, 2025.

  • Chinese New Year 2025 (CNY / TET)

    • The holiday falls on Wednesday, January 29th 2025. The holiday causes disruption and delays at factories across Asia.

    • Most factories will close for 2 weeks or more.

    • Logistics providers will continue to operate, though expect some disruptions.

      • Leading up to and following the holiday there will be shortages in capacity and rate fluctuations.

  • Ocean vessel schedule reliability is hovering around 55%. This represents a decline in reliability, in 2023 the average was 65%,

    • Container availability is an issue at some ports.

    • For US imports expect minimal delays on average 1-3 days.

      • Booking delays in Asia could be as high as 3 weeks.

 

Container Logistics

  • Container Costs

    • Starting in May and continuing into August container rates increased

      • 40’ containers coming to the USA topped out around $12,000

      • In recent weeks rates have pulled back, however they are still nearly two times the rates we saw throughout most of 2023

    • Factors that caused the increase:

      • Carriers canceling planned vessels, to ensure each boat that is moving is full. Leading to shippers fighting for the available space.

      • Vessel backups and delays in Singapore are causing a ripple across global ocean logistics.

      • Container availability issues are occurring. This is mostly due to the longer transit times boats have been facing for 8+ months.

        • Additionally, vessels being out of position due to longer transit times / delays.

      • Shippers are moving up their peak season shipments, which is worsening the current market conditions.

      • Imports to the US are up 12% year over year.

  • Suez Canal and the Red Sea

    • Starting in November 2023 most long-range steamship lines avoiding this area. Local traffic is continuing to use the canal.

      • Overall volume through the canal is down over 50% compared to this time last year.

    • Vessels inbound to the USA are continuing to route around Africa (Cape of Good Hope), which increases transit time by roughly a week.

 

US Port and Overland Overview

  • Fuel Updates

    • Ocean Fuel (VLSFO) as of November 2024 is flat over the year

      • Compared to 2021 and prior the cost is still up 50% +

    • Diesel in the USA as the start of November is $3.53 a gallon

      • Diesel is still roughly 20% higher than 2019 levels, which is keeping freight prices elevated.

      • Additionally, average diesel prices reported by EIA.gov are typically lower than truck stop prices, and are average across large sections of the country.

    • National FTL rates are steady throughout 2024, though elevated from 2019 levels.

      • LTL and small package rates have continued to rise, due to the nature of how those networks function.

 

Data Analysis

  • September container imports continued a 3-month streak with containers surpassing 2.4m TEUs. September year over year imports show a 14% increase, and a 23% increase over 2019.

  • West coast port share continues to outpace the east coast.

  • The PDF below is port-by-port review across the U.S. in November 2024 compared to 2023 & 2022.


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