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May 19, 2026

Ships Awaiting Berth at US Ports Run 58% Below the 5-Year Median

Ships awaiting berth at all US ports: 4 this week, 58% below the 5-year median. LA/Long Beach and NY/NJ read Flowing. West Coast loaded imports are mixed: Houston and LA/Long Beach above the 5-year median, Seattle/Tacoma below.

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Ships awaiting berth at all US container ports stood at 4 this week (per MARAD), 58% below the 5-year median and 20% lower than the prior week. At LA/Long Beach, 1 ship awaited berth, at its trailing-12-month normal of 1 ship (per MARAD and the Marine Exchange), and the import-friction read is Flowing. The BTS truck planning-time index at LA/Long Beach came in at 4.07, at its trailing-12-month normal of 4.07.

Live data: All US container ports ships awaiting berth
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  • Savannah ships awaiting berth (MARAD): 2 ships this week, up 100% week over week and 100% above the 5-year median, the sharpest relative move among tracked complexes.
  • LA/Long Beach loaded imports (Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, latest available monthly data): Los Angeles posted 449,370 TEU (9.8% above the 5-year median) and Long Beach posted 418,851 TEU (15.8% above), for a combined 868,221 TEU against a trailing-12-month normal of 831,195 TEU.
  • Houston loaded imports (Port of Houston, latest available monthly data): 188,276 TEU, 18.6% above the 5-year median, the largest positive deviation by percentage among tracked ports.
  • Seattle/Tacoma loaded imports (Northwest Seaport Alliance, latest available monthly data): 87,186 TEU, 15.8% below the 5-year median, the largest negative deviation among tracked ports.
  • NY/NJ import-friction read: Flowing. BTS truck planning-time index at 3.82, 3.5% below the 5-year median and below the trailing-12-month normal of 3.97. Loaded imports at 340,365 TEU (Port Authority of NY/NJ, latest available monthly data), near the trailing-12-month normal of 372,973 TEU.

Monthly loaded-import TEU figures land weeks after the reporting month. All figures above are the latest available, not current-week volumes. BTS vessel dwell at berth covers only the archived national series through mid-2023.

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