Rail Logjam Strands 35,000 Boxes at LA-Long Beach as Shipyard Bottlenecks Bite

More than 35,000 import containers are stuck at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach waiting for trains. Record volumes and a shortage of railcars are choking the busiest US gateway at the height of peak season.

As of Monday, 35,688 containers were awaiting on-dock rail service across the two ports, and more than 10,500 of them had been waiting nine days or longer. Most of the long-dwelling boxes were in Los Angeles. Average rail dwell across the complex rose to 7.19 days in September from 6.75 days in August, according to the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association.

Both ports posted record months in September, with Los Angeles handling about 1.04 million twenty-foot equivalent units. “Strong international volumes have tightened rail car supply,” Union Pacific Corp. said. Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said dwell times were “higher than we would like.”

The backlog adds to the pressure on the complex as about 250 port watchmen threaten a walkout at eight container terminals as soon as Sunday.

Shipbuilding constraints, meanwhile, are rippling through the wider maritime economy. Equinor ASA said this week that delays to US-built tugs and barges have pushed first power at its Empire Wind project off New York to mid-2027. The project’s Singapore-built installation vessel doesn’t comply with the Jones Act, so domestic barges must ferry turbine components from Brooklyn. Equinor said the problem had caused “a few months’ delay.”

Hanwha Group is betting that shipyard capacity will be a growth business. Hanwha Defense USA said Tuesday it will take a 60% controlling stake in Philly Shipyard to position the yard for US Navy work. The South Korean group bought the yard for 100 million dollars in 2024. It now employs nearly 2,500 people, more than double its headcount at acquisition, and Hanwha has pledged $5 billion to expand it. “Now we are positioning the shipyard to transition to dual-use,” said Tom Anderson, who heads Hanwha’s US shipbuilding operations.