Quarterly Intelligence: Q1 2026 January | 8
CHART 4A
Low LA-LB container dwell times indicate steady cargo flow Average number of days local- and rail-delivered containers spend at Los Angeles and Long Beach port terminals
Days
Tacoma rail container dwells steady after July uptick Average hours truck- and rail-delivered containers spend at Tacoma port terminals
Dwell time in hours
Vancouver rail container dwells decline after October increase Average hours truck- and rail-delivered containers spend at Port of Vancouver, BC
Dwell time in hours
8
106
4
2 Jan L 2024
Jul Jan 2025
250
200 100 150
100
50 Jan L 2024
Jul Jan 2025
Source: Infor Nexus
350 300 250 100 200 150 100 50 0
Jan L 2024 Jul
Jan 2025
Source: Infor Nexus
Local container dwell time
Source: Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
CHART 4B
CHART 4C
Truck
Truck
Rail
Rail
Jul Rail container dwell time
Jul
Jul
© 2026 S & P Global
© 2026 S & P Global
© 2026 S & P Global
Steady flow, stable share: With container imports falling by double-digit percentages, operations at major container gateways on the US West Coast were fluid throughout the fourth quarter, and those conditions are likely to continue given the weak volumes forecasted for the first quarter of 2026. Following an early peak season, combined imports through the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland and the Northwest Seaport Alliance of Seattle and Tacoma fell 11.4 % year over year in the three months ending in November, according to PIERS. Amid the tariff-induced roller-coaster demand movements, West Coast ports handled 59.2 % of US imports from Asia in the first 11 months of 2025, exactly the same share as in the same 2024 period, according to PIERS. Average import dwell times for containers leaving Los Angeles – Long Beach marine terminals by truck and rail of 2.7 days and 3.5 days, respectively, in October and November, according to the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, were both down slightly from the third quarter and well within the normal range that indicates fluid operations( Chart 4A).
Roadwork ahead: Cargo owners, terminal operators and truckers in Southern California will be keeping a close eye on a lengthy bridge redecking project slated to begin in January. Located at the entry to Los Angeles harbor, the Vincent Thomas Bridge project will require one-directional bridge closures through November followed by a full shutdown from November 2026 to March 2028. Relatively low container dwell times in Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver likewise indicated fluid operations in the fourth quarter( Charts 4B and 4C). And thanks to the November completion of a centralized scheduling system in Vancouver, a project that was two years in the making, marine terminals in Canada’ s busiest gateway will be better equipped than ever to handle volume surges in 2026.
Cloudy forecast: Uncertainty around consumer spending and the economy, along with seasonal factors, will determine the strength of East Coast port activity in the first quarter. Since 2016, containerized imports to northeast and mid-Atlantic ports have grown an average of 4.3 % year over year in the first quarter since 2016, according to PIERS. However, it is unlikely that growth will continue at that pace. The Port of New York and New Jersey, which handles 75 % of the region’ s ocean cargo, is budgeting for container volumes to be flat to slightly down in 2026, as US tariff uncertainty continues to weigh on certain shipper segments. Retailers Claire’ s and American Signature Furniture, both former users of the port, declared bankruptcy in 2025 as tariffs raised their costs. Preparing for a first-quarter volume slowdown, www. spglobal. com | www. joc. com © 2026 S & P Global