Dwell down for LA-Long Beach container trucks, rail

August traffic fluid at busiest U.S. import gateway

(Photo: Port of Los Angeles)

The Ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach said local truck dwell averaged 2.73 days in August, down from 2.87 days in July. That was within the past year’s range of 2.55 to 3.25 days and under August 2024’s 2.95-day dwell average.

The San Pedro complex – the nation’s busiest – said that the 

stability reflected adequate trucking capacity and effective coordination among terminal operators, drayage providers, and cargo owners. 

Rail-destined cargo dwell averaged 4.98 days, improving from July’s 5.18 days and well below the 8.20 days recorded in August 2024.

Lower overall rail dwells in 2025 compared to 2024 are indicative of rail cargo moving at a manageable pace despite increased demand. It also reflects resiliency by the port complex as the Trump administration’s trade war with China has resulted in dramatic swings in import volumes so far in 2025.

Long Beach in August processed 901,846 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs), off just 1.3% from the monthly record set in the same month in 2024. The Port of Los Angeles is releasing its August data Wednesday.

“San Pedro Bay marine terminals have demonstrated their ability to handle containerized cargo efficiently, even accounting for high cargo volumes throughput this summer,” said Natasha Villa, spokeswoman for the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. “The ability to maintain steady truck dwell times and further reduce rail dwell reflects the strong coordination between marine terminals, trucking partners, and railroads, ensuring that supply chains remain reliable during peak shipping season.”

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

Related coverage:

‘TikTok’ of rising ocean rates as China prospects improve

Tariff ceasefire powers Long Beach container surge

S. Korea envoy In D.C. as $350B trade pact stalls

Rates spin as Chinese ships dropped from U.S. routes

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Stuart Chirls

Stuart Chirls is a journalist who has covered the full breadth of railroads, intermodal, container shipping, ports, supply chain and logistics for Railway Age, the Journal of Commerce and IANA. He has also staffed at S&P, McGraw-Hill, United Business Media, Advance Media, Tribune Co., The New York Times Co., and worked in supply chain with BASF, the world's largest chemical producer. Reach him at stuartchirls@firecrown.com.