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Transpacific Shipping Container Availability Report for July 18-24

July 19, 2012 by Brian Feito|Exports

The Agricultural Marketing Service released the “Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report” for the week of July 18-24, westbound transpacific trade lanes at 18 intermodal locations in the U.S.1 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 July 18-24 include:

  • Over the next 3 weeks, the Ports of Long Beach, New York, and Norfolk are expected to have the most containers available among the 18 locations reported. Availability at each location is expected to increase during the next 3 weeks, with the exception of 40ft refrigerated containers in Norfolk.
  • Among the inland locations reported, Chicago, Dallas, and Memphis are expected to have the most containers available over the next 3 weeks. Availability is estimated to increase each week, particularly for 40ft high-cube containers in Chicago and Memphis and 20ft containers in Dallas. Refrigerated equipment availability in Chicago is expected to fall.
  • At more than half of the locations reported, the increase in availability for 40ft high -cube containers over the next 3 weeks was greater than each of the other 4 container types.
  • Refrigerated containers are in greatest supply in Long Beach, New York, Oakland, and Savannah and, to a lesser extent, in Seattle, Norfolk, and Houston.
  • Dry 20ft containers are in greatest supply in Long Beach, New York, Chicago, Norfolk, and Oakland this week. Availability of 40ft containers is lowest in Denver, Kansas City, and Tacoma. All locations except New Orleans and Tacoma are reporting increased availability of 20ft dry containers over the next 2 weeks.
  • The biggest increase in availability over the next 3 weeks is expected in Oakland for 20ft refrigerated containers and in Columbus for 40ft dry containers. The biggest decreases in availability were reported for 40ft dry containers in Houston and Seattle and 20ft refrigerated containers in Chicago.

1The 18 intermodal locations included in the report are Long Beach, 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.