# All US container ports ships awaiting berth 8 ships waiting for a berth across US container ports as of week of Aug 24, 2026. Weekly, from MARAD and the Marine Exchange. _Data through week of Aug 24, 2026 · source last checked Sep 1, 2026 · page revised Sep 1, 2026_ > The number of container ships awaiting berth across US ports is 8 ships as of week of Aug 24, 2026, near its trailing-12-month normal of 9 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 US total of ships awaiting berth at all container ports rose to 8 this week, up 33% week over week, and sits 50% below the five-year median (per MARAD). Savannah's ship queue accounted for the bulk of the week-over-week increase, doubling to 4 ships, while LA/Long Beach cleared to zero. The overall count remains well below historical norms despite the weekly uptick. ## Period moves and the seasonal vs-N-yr median (a prior-years comparison). The card verdict and the friction board use each series' trailing-12-month median, the friction rule. | Period | Current | Prior | Change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Week over week | 8 ships | 6 ships | +33.3% | | Month over month | 8 ships | 6 ships | +33.3% | | Year over year | 8 ships | 15 ships | -46.7% | | vs 5-yr median | 8 ships | 16 ships | -50.0% | ## About All US container ports ships awaiting berth This page tracks the number of container ships waiting offshore for a berth to open at All 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? 8 ships container ships are waiting for a berth across US ports as of week of Aug 24, 2026, near the trailing-12-month normal of 9 ships. The [import-friction board](/friction/import-friction) 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 3 weeks, with no sustained move in either direction. ### Is the current queue normal? The queue sits near its trailing-12-month normal of 9 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](/methodology) has the full sourcing. ## 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 period: Weekly reading - Last observation: week of Aug 24, 2026 - Update frequency: Weekly --- Cite: All US container ports: 8 ships awaiting berth as of week of Aug 24, 2026, weekly from MARAD and the Marine Exchange (via BTS). The Dwell. https://the-dwell.com/waiting/all-us Canonical URL: https://the-dwell.com/waiting/all-us