Ship queue
Near normalAll US container ports ships awaiting berth
7 ships waiting for a berth across US container ports as of week of Nov 2, 2026. Weekly, from MARAD and the Marine Exchange.
Data through week of Nov 2, 2026 · source last checked Nov 5, 2026 · page revised Nov 4, 2026
Cite
- Ships awaiting berth
About this data
- Source
- MARAD and the Marine Exchange, via BTS Supply Chain and Freight Indicators
- Series
- Container ships awaiting berth
- Basis
- Queue count, not a dwell time
- Geography
- All US container ports
- Unit
- vessels
- Calculation
- Weekly reading
- Last observation
- week of Nov 2, 2026
- Update frequency
- Weekly
The number of container ships awaiting berth across US ports is 7 ships as of week of Nov 2, 2026, near its trailing-12-month normal of 8 ships. This is a ship QUEUE, not a dwell time. Well below the 2021 to 2023 congestion era, when the queue ran into the dozens.
The ship queue at US container ports stands at 7 ships as of week of Nov 2, 2026, near its trailing-12-month normal of 8 ships. The queue more than doubled from 3 ships a month ago. It remains far below the 2021 to 2023 congestion era, when it ran into the dozens.
| Period | Current | Prior | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week over week | 7 ships | 8 ships | -12.5% |
| Month over month | 7 ships | 3 ships | +133.3% |
| Year over year | 7 ships | n/a | n/a |
| vs 4-yr median | 7 ships | 52 ships | -86.5% |
Previous weeks
Week of Oct 27, 2026
The all-US ships-awaiting-berth count reached 8 ships this week, up 60.0% week over week, per MARAD and the Marine Exchange. The East Coast anchor count doubled to 6 ships. Both figures remain well below their four-year medians, reflecting conditions that are historically calm relative to pandemic-era peak queues.
Week of Oct 20, 2026
Ships awaiting berth across US container ports fell to 5 as of the week of Oct 19, down 2 from the prior week and below the trailing-12-month normal of 8.
Week of Oct 13, 2026
The queue of ships awaiting berth across US container ports climbed to 7 as of the week of Oct 12, 2026, up 4 vessels from the prior week. The count remains near its trailing-12-month normal of 8 ships and well below the 2021 to 2023 peak, when it ran into the dozens.
Week of Oct 6, 2026
The ship queue across US container ports stands at 3 vessels as of the week of Oct 5, well below its trailing-12-month normal of 9 ships. Month over month the queue dropped 70 percent; year over year it is down 67 percent. This is well below the prior five years' median queue of 26 ships.
About All US container ports ships awaiting berth
This page tracks the number of container ships waiting offshore for a berth to open across US container ports. It is a queue, a count of ships, and it is not a dwell time: a vessel in the queue has not yet reached a berth. The count comes from MARAD and the Marine Exchange and updates weekly, so it is the most current congestion signal on the site. A rising queue is an early warning that boxes will start to sit; an empty queue is shown as zero ships, never as a zero dwell.
Common questions
How congested are US ports right now?
7 container ships are waiting for a berth across US ports as of week of Nov 2, 2026, near the trailing-12-month normal of 8 ships. The import-friction board gives the per-complex read.
Is port congestion getting better or worse?
Neither, at the moment: the national ship queue has been broadly steady for 5 weeks, with no sustained move in either direction. Over the past four weeks it rose by 4 ships, short of a trend. The call follows a fixed rule: rising or easing needs a net move of at least 12 ships over four weeks, or two straight weekly moves of at least 6 ships in the same direction.
Is the current queue normal?
The queue sits near its trailing-12-month normal of 8 ships, the same friction basis the board uses. For scale, the chart's 2021 to 2023 stretch shows the backlog era, when the national queue ran into the dozens.
Where does this port congestion data come from?
From MARAD and the Marine Exchange, via the BTS Supply Chain and Freight Indicators: a weekly count of container ships awaiting berth. It is a queue count, not a dwell time; a ship in the queue has not yet reached a berth. The methodology page has the full sourcing.