Transpacific Shipping Container Availability Report for Oct. 10-16

October 11, 2012 by Brian Feito|Exports

The Agricultural Marketing Service released the Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report (OSCAR) for the week of Oct. 10-16. The weekly report contains data on container availability for westbound transpacific traffic at 18 intermodal locations in the U.S.¹ from the eight 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 Oct. 10-16 include:

Over the next 3 weeks, the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, New York, Norfolk, and Oakland are expected to have the most available containers among the port locations reported. An increase in container availability in Oakland this week pushed this location above Savannah which has ranked in the top 4 port locations for several weeks. Availability for all equipment types is expected to increase at Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York during the next 3 weeks. Availability in Norfolk is also expected to increase, except for 40ft refrigerated containers. The availability of dry containers in Oakland is expected to decrease.
Among the inland locations reported, Dallas, Chicago, and Memphis are expected to have the most containers available over the next 3 weeks. Availability is estimated to increase each week for all container types except for overall refrigerated equipment in Chicago.
The number of refrigerated containers available over the next 3 weeks in Tacoma and Minneapolis is estimated to be negative—the biggest deficit from the participating carriers is expected in Tacoma. However, the Port of Seattle jumped to rank 4th this week among the reported locations for available reefers over the next 3 weeks, preceded by Los Angeles/Long Beach, New York, and Savannah. Additionally, 40ft refrigerated containers are expected to increase over the next 3 weeks.
Over the next 3 weeks, most locations reported are estimated to have increasing availability of dry containers—significant jumps are expected in Charleston, Columbus, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Denver, Memphis, and Savannah. Industry analysts are expecting a 7--10 percent increase in container movements in October over the previous year because retail outlets are expecting an increase in holiday sales this year over last year.
Significant decreases in available containers over the next 3 weeks are expected in Houston, New Orleans, Oakland, and Tacoma. Additionally, 40ft high-cube containers in Minneapolis are expected to fall over the next 3 weeks.

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 COSCO, Evergreen, Hanjin Shipping, Hapag Lloyd, Yang Ming Transport Corporation, OOCL, K Line, and Hyundai Merchant Marine.