Quarterly Intelligence: Q1 2026 January | 9
CHART 4D
NY-NJ rail dwells fall to 14-month low in November Average hours truck- and rail-delivered containers spend at Port of New York and New Jersey
Dwell time in hours
200
150 100 100
50
0 Jan L 2024
Jul Jan 2025
Source: Infor Nexus
Truck Rail
Jul
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Maersk plans to blank sailings on its Asia – US East Coast TP11 service for three straight weeks in mid- February. And while winter weather may cause temporary disruptions, East Coast ports are going into the season with no container backlog or other delays. Average dwell times for import containers leaving New York – New Jersey by truck remained at 80 hours in November, according to Infor Nexus, largely unchanged since June and reflecting terminal fluidity( Chart 4D). Turn times for trucks entering port facilities were similarly stable at 64 minutes for a double move, although truckers continue to report episodic delays outside of Port Newark Container Terminal due to roadway improvements that are expected to be completed in 2028.
Doubling up: The Port of Baltimore hopes to attract more intermodal shippers following the completion of a series of tunnel raising projects that will allow CSX Transportation to offer double-stack container rail service to and from the port. It’ s not clear yet what impact the new service will have on Baltimore’ s container volumes, as the service’ s success will depend on how CSX prices it to shippers.
Export relocation: Southeast port activity in early 2026 will be shaped by shippers restocking after the holidays and overseas demand for the region’ s raw material exports. Over the past decade, Southeast ports have recorded 4.4 % average annual import growth in the first quarter, according to PIERS, but consumer spending and regional manufacturing face a mixed outlook. The Federal Reserve’ s most recent economic surveys said consumer spending in the mid-Atlantic states grew at a modest rate during the fourth quarter, but retail sales in southern states declined. Loaded exports from the East Coast remain somewhat resilient, growing 5.8 % year over year through October 2025, but tariff policy has shifted the flow of some goods. Exports to China from East Coast ports fell more than 20 % in the first 10 months of 2025, while shipments to Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Mediterranean jumped 17 %, with Savannah citing cotton exports to India as contributing to its outbound volumes. The Port of Virginia is expected to finish dredging its harbor to 55 feet in the first quarter, making it the deepest on the East Coast, while Charleston, which had been the deepest at 52 feet, will open a new intermodal facility that will allow it to offer on-dock rail service to and from the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal.
Tough comparison: Fast-growing Gulf Coast ports will face the challenge of meeting long-term growth rates for container activity amid lingering uncertainty surrounding import and export demand. The Gulf www. spglobal. com | www. joc. com © 2026 S & P Global