Container Dwell Time Analysis Report

Let's start with stating a definition of container dwell time. It is the period that a container sits in the port area awaiting clearance and delivery in the case of imports and loading on the ship in the case of exports.

Import full container dwell times showed mixed results in March 2022 in various regions. US ports topped the list of ports that had a higher-than-average import container dwell time in March 2022 at 6.03 days. US EC and US WC ports showed a consistent increase in import dwell times compared to previous months.

The US’s top two container ports of LA and Long Beach showed an increase in import container dwell along with Savannah on the East Coast while Seattle, New York and Houston showed a good improvement in the clearing of import containers.

It must however be noted that the issue of import dwell time is quite complex and many factors influence these metrics. Truck shortage, truck driver shortage, fleet owners not sending trucks to markets where there are a lot of deadheads.

In the USA especially, many truckers have been diverted to depots 30-40 miles away to off-load empty containers without truckers receiving any compensation for returning empty from that distance wasting fuel and time.

In Europe, there was a higher than usual import dwell in March 2022 attributed to containers bound for Russia/Ukraine stuck in EU ports awaiting instructions considering the trade sanctions.