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Transpacific Shipping Container Availability Report for Aug. 22-28

August 23, 2012 by Brian Feito|Exports

The Agricultural Marketing Service released the “Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report” for the week of Aug. 22-28. The weekly report contains data on container availability for westbound transpacific traffic at 18 intermodal locations in the U.S.1 from the 10 member carriers of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA)2. Although the report is compiled by AMS, it covers container availability for all merchandise, not just agricultural products.

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Weekly Estimates for Next 3 Weeks on 5 Types of Containers; Includes Maps, Tables

Estimates are available for the current week, as well as the subsequent two weeks, for each of the following five types of shipping containers: 20ft dry, 40ft dry, 40ft high-cube (HC), 20ft reefer, and 40ft reefer. The report has tables for each intermodal location showing availability of each type of shipping container from each carrier (carriers are anonymous).

Highlights of the report for the week of Aug. 22-28 include:

  • Over the next 3 weeks, the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Norfolk and New York are expected to have the most available containers among the port locations reported. Availability for all equipment types is also expected to increase at these locations during the next 3 weeks.
  • Among the inland locations reported, Dallas and Chicago are expected to have the most containers available over the next 3 weeks. Availability is estimated to increase each week for all container types.
  • The largest increases over the next 3 weeks are estimated for inland locations, such as 40ft high-cube containers in Memphis, Dallas, Chicago, Columbus, Cincinnati and New York.
  • This week’s data show Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York as the top 2 locations for refrigerated equipment.
  • Availability of 20ft dry containers is expected to see strong increases in Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Memphis and New York. Decreases in 20ft container availability are expected in Houston, New Orleans, Tacoma and Oakland.
  • Significant increases are expected over the next 3 weeks for 40ft standard containers in Columbus, Dallas, Denver and Minneapolis, 40ft standard and highcube containers in Chicago, Cincinnati, Memphis and New York, and 40ft refrigerated containers in Memphis and Cincinnati. Decreases are expected for 40ft refrigerated containers in Norfolk and Tacoma.

1The 18 intermodal locations included in the report are Long Beach/Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, Tacoma, Denver, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Memphis, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Charleston, and Savannah.

2These carriers are APL, COSCO, Evergreen, Hanjin Shipping, Hapag Lloyd, Yang Ming Transport Corporation, OOCL, NYK Line, K Line, and Hyundai Merchant Marine.