Drayage diversification and infrastructure upgrades for 2025
Drayage diversification for controlling costs
The Journal of Commerce recently released a report that indicated drayage diversification is emerging as a shipper priority in 2025. C.H. Robinson is uniquely situated to assist in any challenges you may be facing when managing a network of multiple dray partners. Our relationships with over 600+ preferred carriers in over 50 markets across the U.S. and Canada which allows us the opportunity to be a single solution.
South Carolina Ports infrastructure upgrades capacity
On February 18, South Carolina Ports (SC Ports) set a new record for the largest vessel to call the port of Charleston, at 16,828 TEUs. SC Ports has the deepest harbor on the U.S. East Coast at 54 feet. This critical depth allows mega container ships to access the Port of Charleston at any time, regardless of tides. SC Ports has spent nearly $3 billion in infrastructure upgrades, including berth improvements, new cranes, and expanded rail connections to accommodate growing trade demands.
North America
West Coast
In early February, TTI Port Terminal in Long Beach announced the launch of a new appointment system. Since the implementation of the new system, truck drivers have encountered various challenges, leading to unsuccessful pickup attempts for import containers and difficulties in scheduling containers beyond the last free day (LFD) at the terminal.
Northeast
Marine terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey are seeing bouts of severe congestion due to a variety of factors that include heavy import volumes, holiday scheduling and bad weather. The congestion is currently making it difficult for carriers to return empty containers and puts shippers at risk for late fees on empty returns and import retrievals.
The dwell time on import containers averaged 3.9 days during January, up from an average of 3.5 days during December and November. The standard terminal tariff at NY-NJ provides four days of free time on an import, suggesting shippers are running closer to incurring demurrage due to the delays.
Gulf
Houston is one of several markets where the local DOT regulations restrict the movement of overweight containers. Any overweight containers that move through the Houston port must be made compliant if the freight can be deconsolidated. One of our premier transload partners has expanded into this market and has personnel who are skilled in adjusting overweight loads to mitigate potentially costly penalties. If you have overweight opportunities in Houston let us know how we can be of assistance.
East Coast
In Miami, the Florida International Terminal (“FIT”) has implemented a new export fee process. All FIT Scale and Security Fees for export containers will need to be cleared prior to our carriers being able to make an appointment. We raise this to ensure you are aware of the potential for administrative charges associated with the new FIT Scale policy.
Ohio Valley
Many of our carriers in the Cincinnati market are reporting chassis pool shortages and are having to rely on private equipment to move containers. In these situations, customers have two options: 1) ask C.H. Robinson to arrange for the carrier to wait for a pool chassis to become available, which can risk rail storage. We typically have only 48 hours to outgate containers once they are available or 2) opt to pay a higher daily rate for the carrier to use their private equipment.