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Updates on the impact of COVID-19 in North America
+++ last updated on 30 July +++
Summary:
All of the U.S. and Canada operations continue to run normally with most of our employees doing telework. We are ready to service your transportation needs.
Phases of reopening have commenced across the U.S. and Canada with varying protocols and restrictions.
While we continue to have essential staff in our offices handling your documentation needs, we are encouraging all customers to: - Use all available digital tools on our website at www.hapag-lloyd.com or on the Hapag-Lloyd App (Web bookings, E-Shipping Instructions, Quick Quotes, Navigator, etc.) - Use email for general inquiries (email addresses can be found in the “Offices and Local Info” section of our website) and phone calls for urgent matters / escalations only. - Visit terminal websites for the most up to date information.
Terminal Operations
LAX/LGB Vessel/Terminal Delay Update:
There are currently 29 ships at anchor awaiting berths in LAX/LGB as of Friday July 30th. All terminals remain and are expected to continue being extremely congested. Further spike on imports is expected as the peak season approaches and cargo in pre-shipped to accounts for the current cargo delays. Changes of destination (COD's) and container "dig outs" are restricted due to lack terminal space and customers are urged to continue to expedite the pickup of their import containers and inform any import COD requests at least four working days before the start of vessel operations. Hapag-Lloyd is currently facing limited single empty return options and restricted mainly to dual transactions. Local trucking delays have been reduced and are expected to continue improving. The LAX/LGB rail operations from all terminals continues to deteriorate due lack of rail capacity and railcars from both rail providers. This is affecting all on/off dock intermodal moves. Off dock moves have been reduced to almost nil.
New York Terminal Update:
Terminals – USNYC
Berth utilization is high at all terminals due to vessels being off proforma and various lines introducing new services. Arrival delays are currently running upwards of 48 hours. Summer vacations continue to have an adverse effect on labor availability, yard turn times, and productivity throughout the port. A slight uptick in COVID cases is being seen amongst port workers. Terminal yard utilization is higher than last week as import dwell has started to increase, and empty stock levels are trending higher.
Gate turn times at a few terminals continue to be slightly over acceptable service levels due to yard congestion. Some terminals are offering Saturday gates to facilitate increased import deliveries.
Savannah Terminal Update:
Currently 16 ships at anchor as of July 30th. Berth dredging will resume ' tentatively ' in August for CB08-CB09. All berths available except CB01 - continued maintenance. Gate turn times have improved slightly over last few weeks with more RTG’s working the stacks. Imports have dropped slightly making rail turn time at 48hrs. Berths 7-8-9 have most volumes, however, Berths 4-5-6 is currently the biggest challenge with empty long hauls within the terminal - finding balance with imports, exports and empties is the currently issue being addressed. Night shifts are less productive due to manning of the RTG’s within the pads. There continues to be aggressive training with RTG drivers to keep road truck turn times to a minimum. GPA is investing in new RTG cranes to increase yard capacity in the same terminal footprint. These assets are approved and scheduled to be deployed in 2023.
Houston Terminal Update:
There are currently 8 ships at anchor in Houston as of July 30th. The Port of Houston I.T. systems were down 2.5 days this week due to hardware failures. No gate transactions were executed during this time. The terminal is providing extended gate hours and Saturdays to help catch up. Terminal import pads are full at Barbours Cut. The next EC6 ship will make a discharge call at Bayport and then load back at Barbours Cut due to import space at the terminal. Ship labor is being metered by shorting gangs so that imports can be dispatched off the terminal to make room for more cargo. Terminal is short of chassis needed for certain import discharge. Deadheading empty containers is needed but also delayed due to ships working with metered labor and gangs.
Oakland Terminal Update:
Currently there are 6 ships at anchor or drifting in the San Francisco Bay area as of July 30th. The Port of Oakland continues to move its cargo volume numbers toward record territory. The ports total cargo volume increased 11.4% over 2020, and expect to handle over 2.6 million containers for the first time ever. At the same time, more cargo presents enormous operating challenges for marine terminals and ocean carriers at Oakland. Current berthing delays are at 6-8 days, however the port is expecting this to ease by the fall as more dockworkers are hired and trained in the coming weeks. Export receiving windows are shrinking from 4 to 3 days in some cases to assist with volume on terminal. Alternative night gate hours continue to have low trucker participation. All berths remain occupied.
Seattle/Tacoma Terminal Update:
All Seattle/Tacoma terminals are operating at full capacity. There are currently 11 vessels at anchor awaiting berth as of July 30th. Berthing delays are up to 10 days at this time due to heavy volumes. Vessel omissions and change of rotation are expected due to the delays. Saturday gates are now being offered to alleviate backlog of imports. Terminals are not accepting empty containers until vessels sail making room for additional inventories. Additional space has been provided to hold empty containers at T-5 in Seattle and West Hylebos in Tacoma allowing some additional empty returns for Hapag-Lloyd. T18 in Seattle has started to pile import containers in inaccessible areas until there is additional space in the transrows as imports depart the terminal. Rail car shortages to get imports off the dock is a major contributing factor to the overall congestion. NWSA investments in T-5 are not slated to fully open until 2022 which will bring much needed additional capacity to the region. Chassis counts remain low due to the surge in imports.
Canadian Terminal Delays Update:
Terminals:
CAVAN
Berth fluidity in Vancouver has improved and productivity has increased at GCT. Ships are still facing delays in the range of 5-7 days.
Rail: British Columbia continues to contend with wild fires across the province and the state of emergency remains in effect. CP Rail and CN Rail continue to operate trains at safe speeds and continue to monitor the situation closely. Yard utilization at GCT is presently at 99% and rail operations are producing 70% of daily target due to shortage of railcar supply by both railways.
CAMTR
All terminals are experiencing a shortage of labor, resulting in delays to ship schedules. This is expect to continue throughout the summer months. Rail car supply remains stable, however dwell times have increased to 4 days.
Intermodel Operations
Capacity limitation in certain markets due to import volume spikes and severe drivers’ shortage. Please find main markets, and estimate lead-time to secure capacity below (Note: Lead time refers to timeframe to secure truck power, it is not dwell time):
Please note details current average dwell times for Hapag-Lloyd boxes at several terminals / ramps. Includes, MH, rail and truck moves:
New York, NY - Average 8.3 days
MMR Rail New York, NY – Average 3.1 days
Long Beach, CA – Average 8.6 days
Los Angeles, CA – Average 12.9 days
Charleston, SC – Average 6.6 days
Savannah, GA – Average 7 days
Norfolk, VA – Average 7.4 days
Kansa City, MO – Average 7.9 days
Chicago, IL - Average 7.7 days
Memphis, TN – Average 9.9 days
Detroit, MI – Average 8.8 days
Dallas, TX – Average 3.6 days
Houston, TX – Average 9 days
Halifax, CAN – Average 1.8 days port
Saint John, CAN – Average 8.1 days port
Montreal, CAN – Average 4.0 days port; 1.5 days ramp
Vancouver, CAN – Average 3.5 days port; 2.8 days ramp
Prince Rupert, CAN – Average 0.0 days port
For all details please check the PDFs at the bottom of this page
Chassis Pools
With the recent unprecedented Import volumes, there is currently a historically high demand for chassis throughout the USA. This demand has shown to be persistent on 40ft chassis and intermittent on 20ft chassis.
In order to minimize any negative impact on supply chains, customers are asked to take immediate steps to reduce container and chassis off terminal dwell time. This includes all inland terminals as well as port terminals. Without a significant reduction in the dwell times, truckers may face serious challenges and delays in securing good order chassis as long as this surge in imports continues.
USCHI – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
USDET – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
USIND – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
USLUI – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
USHOU – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
USNYC – Constrained on 40’ chassis.
USMKC – Constrained on 40’ chassis.
USSEA – Constrained on 20’ and deficit on 40’ chassis.
USTIW – Deficit on 40’ chassis.
USLAX/USLGB – Deficit on 20’ and 40’ chassis.
Customer Service We strongly invite our customers to use our e-tools (Web-Booking and EASI) for submitting bookings and Shipper Instructions. For customer inquiries, we encourage customers to use email as the primary method of contact with our Customer Service teams. We are monitoring emails and answering them as expeditiously as possible. For urgent escalations only, you can still use phone calls. However please note that we are experiencing high call volumes and longer than normal waiting times. For vessel/container/booking status and sailing schedules information, customer should visit our Online Business section at our Hapag-Lloyd website. For Dangerous Good Cargo terminal gate acceptance, we strongly recommend customers to send us electronic copies of their Export Hazardous Declarations to be uploaded in their DG bookings. For faster BL release at destination, under the current COVID-19 conditions, we encourage customers to switch from OBL to SWB, if any assistance is needed please reach out to your customer service documentation team. For payments, we encourage customers to use our online payment option: PayCargo - For single invoice, demurrage and detention payments - quickest release of cargo. ACH/Wires - Suggested for USA when paying multiple invoices, please expect 24-48 hours for processing and cargo release. Reach out to your local customer service representative here. In answer to customers request to receive Motor Carriers contact details: The process is to allow the motor carriers to confirm the appointments directly with the loading facility. We believe we can provide better service by allowing our Intermodal team, the trucker and the loading facility to work together. It is the role of the motor carrier and the supplier to make the necessary connection to schedule loading. Any customers wishing to remain informed of the loading details should remain in direct contact with the supplier/loading-unloading facility to confirm if/when the activity has been scheduled. For exports: in general appointments are scheduled within 5-7 days of the requested loading and is further guided by the ERD of the rail/port. For imports, appointments are scheduled once all import requirements have been met (Customs clearance, OBL or SWB submitted, payment of freight and delivery order instructions received), 5 days prior to last free day. If the supplier has not heard from the trucker within 72 business hours of the cutoff, or for imports all receipt of 5days - 4 requirements rule, or if the driver has missed the scheduled appointment please contact us directly. Click below to find more information about RNA Ports and the links to their COVID-19 updates.
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