MANY are shifting imports from Asia to the us east coast, only to find congestion getting worse than on the west coast, reports London's Loadstar.
Maritime analytics firm MarineTraffic counted 18 containerships waiting for berth space at the port of Charleston, and another 12 at Norfolk.
There were more ships idling at Charleston than in San Pedro Bay, where 16 were waiting for a berth at Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Some 186,000 TEU were in limbo off the gateway complex, compared with 273,000 TEU on the east coast.
Importers on the east coast are waiting longer to get their cargo, citing wait times of less than four days at Los Angeles and under two days at Long Beach, while nine to 10 days at Charleston and three to four days at Norfolk.
'It has slowly been getting worse and has been sporadic, but is starting to become a major concern. We have seen the delays expanding by several days,' said Team Worldwide vice president Bob Imbriani.
Some expect the situation to deteriorate further, with Xenata recently warning that the east coast was the next hot spot for high congestion.
The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) informed customers it would temporarily stop calling at the port of Charleston on its route to South Asia because of extended wait times.
A growing number of importers and forwarders have swiveled from the east coast to the Gulf of Mexico. It has brought a rising tide of container imports to the Port of Houston, seeing its TEU tally in January up 27 per cent.
'We actually switched to several Gulf ports some time ago, based on availability of drayage services, and have expanded their use,' said Mr Imbriani.
SeaNews Turkey
Maritime analytics firm MarineTraffic counted 18 containerships waiting for berth space at the port of Charleston, and another 12 at Norfolk.
There were more ships idling at Charleston than in San Pedro Bay, where 16 were waiting for a berth at Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Some 186,000 TEU were in limbo off the gateway complex, compared with 273,000 TEU on the east coast.
Importers on the east coast are waiting longer to get their cargo, citing wait times of less than four days at Los Angeles and under two days at Long Beach, while nine to 10 days at Charleston and three to four days at Norfolk.
'It has slowly been getting worse and has been sporadic, but is starting to become a major concern. We have seen the delays expanding by several days,' said Team Worldwide vice president Bob Imbriani.
Some expect the situation to deteriorate further, with Xenata recently warning that the east coast was the next hot spot for high congestion.
The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) informed customers it would temporarily stop calling at the port of Charleston on its route to South Asia because of extended wait times.
A growing number of importers and forwarders have swiveled from the east coast to the Gulf of Mexico. It has brought a rising tide of container imports to the Port of Houston, seeing its TEU tally in January up 27 per cent.
'We actually switched to several Gulf ports some time ago, based on availability of drayage services, and have expanded their use,' said Mr Imbriani.
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