April Rail Ramp Index: Collapse of Baltimore Key Bridge Raises Demand, Traffic at Regional Ports

ITS Logistics released the April edition of its monthly Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index. This month, the index data reflects the considerable demand shifts for the Ports of Norfolk, New York, and New Jersey due to the recent Francis Scott Key Bridge damage, effectively eliminating access to the inner harbor and closing the Port of Baltimore.

“The eastern seaboard will see considerable container diversions as freight originally scheduled to arrive in Baltimore diverts to new destinations,” said Paul Brashier, Vice President of Drayage and Intermodal for ITS Logistics. “This is the most immediate concern for shippers over the next couple of weeks. As we get further into April and May, new ports – primarily New York, New Jersey, and Norfolk – will become the North American entry point for Baltimore freight. Unplanned diversions to these ports will increase congestion, challenge operations at these locations, and drive dray trucking rates upward.”

According to the April index, the long-term implications of this event could be a further migration of trans-Pacific freight to West Coast North American ports from the US East Coast, a shift that shippers and logistics professionals need to be prepared for.

“On the US West Coast, Los Angeles and Long Beach IPI Rail containers are still seeing significant dwell times as rail provider equipment is out of balance due to increased demand for East Coast freight arriving to the US West Coast,” continued Brashier. “Shippers and operators in Vancouver are also reporting delays. These challenges are creating increases in dray-transload and one-way operations for low inventory SKUs.”

In response to the challenges currently experienced by the industry in the aftermath of the bridge collapse, ITS has moved all rail regions and the Pacific Ocean region to elevated concern. The Atlantic Ocean region will be moved to severe due to shippers not having visibility of their freight being diverted to new ports and terminals throughout the US East Coast, which increases the likelihood of demurrage with containers not booked to the door with ocean carriers.

ITS is urging industry leaders to implement a strategy that provides full visibility from port to door. Focusing on visibility will ensure companies have end-to-end container management and visibility, demurrage and detention insights, and accurate trends as well as analytics to help in navigating this current disruption as well as those that have yet to come.

ITS Logistics offers a full suite of network transportation solutions across North America backed by a strategically positioned omnichannel distribution and fulfillment network capable of reaching 95% of the U.S. population within two days. These services include drayage and intermodal in 22 coastal ports and 30 rail ramps, a full suite of asset and asset-lite transportation solutions, omnichannel distribution and fulfillment, and outbound small parcel.

ContainerAI, the company’s container management and visibility platform, provides users with the ability to track any container diversions and collaborate on multimode solutions. This proactive approach is essential to mitigate demurrage, detention/per diem charges, and inventory imbalances during this critical period.

The ITS Logistics US Port/Rail Ramp Freight Index forecasts port container and dray operations for the Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf regions. Ocean and domestic container rail ramp operations are also highlighted in the index for both the West Inland and East Inland regions. Visit here for a full comprehensive copy of the index with expected forecasts for the US port and rail ramps.