News / ITS warns of peak season railhead congestion in US midwest and east

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As peak season US containerised imports arrive at ports, with goods for the prime shopping season, the latest monthly US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index, from ITS Logistics, shows uncongested flows through the ports and rail system.

The exception is at railheads in the midwest and east, where ITS warns clients of “elevated to severe disruption” in the coming weeks.

It advises them to expect problems with ramp congestion, ramp operations and chassis availability, which has caused serious delays for importers in the past.

But overall, the situation is in contrast with usual peak season patterns, with no significant issues in terminal and rail fluidity.

The report says: “There were some elevated volumes for peak, but with inventory levels still high in most segments of the economy, demand is at some of the lowest levels in years.”

However, a combination of elevated volumes and lack of available container chassis is causing problems at rail ramps in the midwest and east.

“Chicago is problematic,” reported Paul Brashier, VP drayage and intermodal at ITS Logistics, and said rail ramps in the Omaha and Dallas regions were also experiencing problems.

The ITS Index shows elevated or severe congestion at Chicago, Memphis, Nashville, Charlotte, Columbus and Atlanta, and the report warns: “Lack of ocean chassis equipment and increased volumes will cause significant operational issues and additional costs.”

A factor that has increased the otherwise only modestly higher volumes is the end of the strike at western Canadian ports, which has released containers stuck in ports, notably at Vancouver, during the stand-off between the union and marine employers.

There are not enough chassis available at the rail ramps, Mr Brashier noted. “There are plenty of chassis; they’re just in the wrong place. There’s tons of chassis on the eastern seaboard.”

Getting them to afflicted railheads would require a joint effort by ramp operators, chassis providers and carriers, “which is challenging”, he added, and said he expected the problems to persist for at least four weeks.

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better, especially as we get into next week,” he warned.

With volumes arriving at rail ramps at seasonally elevated levels, the lack of chassis means boxes are stacking up as new trainloads arrive, making it harder to get to these stranded units, noted Mr Brashier.

“It’s going to drive up transport costs. With rising congestion, a driver who usually performs five pick-ups in a day only manages one or two,” he said.

ITS is warning its customers and other importers to avoid booking low-inventory or high-demand SKUs to the ramps in the midwest. Instead, they should shift some volumes to be transloaded and carried inland by truckers or intermodal service providers.