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Transpacific Shipping Container Availability Report for July 25-31

July 25, 2012 by Brian Feito|Exports

The Agricultural Marketing Service released the “Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report” for the week of July 25-31. 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 25-31 include:

  • Over the next 3 weeks, the ports of Long Beach, New York, Norfolk, and Oakland are expected to have the most available containers among the 18 locations reported. Availability is expected to increase at Long Beach and New York during the next 3 weeks; availability for 40ft refrigerated and high-cube containers in Norfolk is expected to decrease, as will all equipment types in Oakland except for 20ft refrigerated containers.
  • 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 refrigerated containers in Memphis and 40ft high-cube containers in Chicago. However, refrigerated equipment availability in Chicago is expected to fall.
  • Refrigerated containers are in biggest supply in Long Beach, New York, Oakland, and Seattle. Of the locations reporting, all but 3 are expected to have an increase in refrigerated equipment over the next 3 weeks.
  • Availability of 20ft dry containers is expected to see strong increases in Minneapolis, Seattle, and Savannah over the next 3 weeks. Decreases in 20ft container availability are expected in Houston, New Orleans, Tacoma, Kansas City, and Oakland.
  • Significant increases are expected over the next 3 weeks for 40ft standard containers in Cincinnati, 40ft standard and high-cube containers in Kansas City, and 40ft refrigerated containers in Memphis. Decreases are expected for 40ft standard containers in Houston and 40ft high-cube containers in Minneapolis.

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.