LA/Long Beach Friction Eases to Flowing, Truck PTI Below Normal

LA/Long Beach's import-friction read returned to Flowing this week, after last issue's Some Pressure read. The BTS truck planning-time index at the complex sits at 2.26, well below its trailing-12-month normal of 4.07. Ships awaiting berth at LA/Long Beach eased to 2 ships, down 33% week over week and near the trailing-12-month normal of 1 ship, per MARAD and the Marine Exchange.

• All-US ships awaiting berth: 6 ships (MARAD), down 14% week over week, and 75% below the five-year median.
• Savannah ships awaiting berth: 2 ships (MARAD and the Marine Exchange): doubled week over week, 82% below the five-year median, near trailing-12-month normal of 2 ships. Friction read: Flowing.
• Gulf Coast ships at anchor: 0 (MARAD), 100% below the five-year median.
• NY/NJ friction read: Flowing. BTS truck PTI at 2.23, below trailing-12-month normal of 3.82. Loaded imports 392,074 TEU, near normal of 382,286 TEU, per port authority monthly data.
• Port of Long Beach UP rail cars dwelling nine or more days: 397, up 230.8% week over week from 120 per Port of Long Beach data. BNSF nine-plus-day cars fell 13.5% to 2,868 over the same period.

The Port of Los Angeles reported 955,907 TEU in August 2026, on par with August 2025 and 6% above the port's five-year average for the month, per the port authority's Sep 9, 2026 release. The port described the June-August stretch as the busiest three consecutive months in its history. The LA/Long Beach complex logged 967,013 TEU in loaded imports for August, near the trailing-12-month normal of 848,128 TEU per port authority monthly data.

Monthly loaded-import figures reflect August 2026, published in September; they are the latest available, not the current week's volume.