# The import-friction board A rules-based, descriptive read of where each major port complex is flowing or backing up _Data through week of Aug 24, 2026 · source last checked Sep 1, 2026 · page revised Sep 1, 2026_ > As of the latest readings, LA/Long Beach reads flowing, NY/NJ reads flowing, Savannah reads some pressure. The friction read is a fixed, rules-based label built from where each complex's ship queue, truck planning-time index and loaded-import TEU sit versus their trailing-12-month normal. The ship queue is the freshest signal, a weekly snapshot as of week of Aug 24, 2026; the truck index and loaded imports are monthly and run about two months behind (latest Jul 2026), so the freshest reading on this board is the queue. It is descriptive, never a forecast. LA/Long Beach and NY/NJ are flowing. The ship queue at LA/Long Beach stands at zero as of the week of Aug 24, and truck index eased at both coasts in the latest monthly reads. Savannah shows some pressure with four ships awaiting berth in the same week, elevated versus its trailing-12-month normal. ## Each component runs on its own clock and each cell is dated to its own reading: the ship queue is a weekly snapshot from MARAD and the Marine Exchange (AIS-derived), the truck planning-time index is monthly (FHWA), and loaded imports are monthly (about two months behind, latest Jul 2026). | Complex | Friction read | Ships awaiting berth | Truck PTI | Loaded imports | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | LA/Long Beach | Flowing | 0 ships (eased, wk of Aug 24) | 2.19 (eased, Jul 2026) | 917,583 TEU (near normal, Jun 2026) | | NY/NJ | Flowing | n/a | 2.37 (eased, Jun 2026) | 388,842 TEU (near normal, Jun 2026) | | Savannah | Some pressure | 4 ships (elevated, wk of Aug 24) | n/a | 240,445 TEU (near normal, Jun 2026) | ## About The import-friction board This board gives each major port complex one plain label, flowing, some pressure, or congested, built by a fixed rule. For each complex we take up to three components, the ship queue where one is published, the truck planning-time index, and loaded-import TEU, and compare each to its own trailing-12-month median. A component more than 15 percent above its normal is elevated. Zero elevated components reads flowing, one reads some pressure, two or more reads congested. The full rule is on the methodology page. Not every complex publishes every component: LA/Long Beach has all three, NY/NJ has the truck index and loaded imports but no public ship queue, and Savannah has a ship queue and loaded imports but no truck index. An n/a here is a gap in what the source publishes, not a gap in the site, and the read is judged only on the components that report. Only the ship queue is a live weekly reading; the truck index and loaded imports are monthly and land about two months after the month they cover, so each cell is dated to its own reading and the freshest reading is the weekly ship queue. It describes the current numbers; it does not predict the next move. ## About this data - Source: Ships awaiting berth from MARAD and the Marine Exchange, via BTS. Friction read: The Dwell composite of BTS indicators - Series: LA/Long Beach ships awaiting berth (the charted component of the friction assessment) - Basis: One component of the import-friction read, not the cross-complex verdict, which is the table on the page - Geography: LA/Long Beach chart; friction read across major US complexes - Unit: vessels - Calculation period: Weekly ship-queue snapshot; the friction read is against a trailing-12-month normal band - Last observation: week of Aug 24, 2026 - Update frequency: Weekly --- Cite: US port congestion as of week of Aug 24, 2026: LA/Long Beach flowing, NY/NJ flowing, Savannah some pressure (import-friction read, The Dwell). The Dwell. https://the-dwell.com/friction/import-friction Canonical URL: https://the-dwell.com/friction/import-friction