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The day’s most important moves across every mode — air, rail, road, ocean and the trade that ties them together.
| ● On the Wire |
Thursday, October 29 |
4 stories |
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The Northwest Seaport Alliance connects Pacific Northwest shippers to Asia with some of the shortest transit times on the West Coast, backed by deep-water berths and on-dock rail at both Seattle and Tacoma.
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Ocean
BY STUART CHIRLS · AMERICAN SHIPPER · OCTOBER 28, 2026
About 250 ILWU Local 26 watchmen could strike as early as 5 p.m. Pacific on Nov. 1, putting operations at terminals that handle most of Long Beach’s cargo and a third of Los Angeles’ at risk.
| THE TAKE — The watchmen are only about 2% of ILWU workers at the two ports, but the Pacific Maritime Association expects other members to honor picket lines, which could halt vessel, yard and gate operations at affected terminals. The Local 26 contract is separate from the coastwide ILWU agreement running through 2028, so the dispute is narrower than a full port labor fight, but with the latest extension expiring Sunday, shippers should watch for contingency routing before the weekend. |
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Rail
Nearly 35,700 containers were waiting for on-dock rail service at the two ports on Oct. 26, with more than 10,500 of them on terminals for at least nine days.
| THE TAKE — Los Angeles carries the heavier burden, with 41.4% of its rail-bound containers waiting nine days or longer versus 15.1% at Long Beach. Average rail dwell rose to 7.19 days in September on record volumes, and C.H. Robinson cites Southern California intermodal railcar shortages. A strike next week at eight container terminals would land on a network that is already congested, though the counts don’t prove every container is overdue. |
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Ocean
Port Houston handled 376,419 TEUs in September, up 11% from a year earlier, with loaded imports climbing 16% to 174,189 TEUs.
| THE TAKE — A rough start to the year has turned into a strong finish, with nine-month volume up 2% to 3.35 million TEUs, and steel imports up 181% show how much cargo mix is shifting. The completed widening of the Houston Ship Channel through Galveston Bay from 530 to 700 feet and a new container and reefer service launched in September point to capacity and routing that can keep Gulf volumes growing. |
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Rail
Greenbrier’s fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell to $8.7 million as revenue dropped 22% to $591 million, though its railcar order backlog rose for the first time since fiscal 2024.
| THE TAKE — The quarter missed expectations on both revenue and core earnings, but the 14,000-car backlog worth about $2.1 billion is the more forward-looking number, and the retiring CEO says higher rail traffic and diesel prices are lifting inquiries. Fiscal 2027 guidance of $2.8 billion to $3.2 billion in revenue implies a sharp rebound from this year’s $2.46 billion. |
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This week on American Shipper TV: what a potential Los Angeles–Long Beach watchmen strike could mean for cargo flows, and why rail backlogs are building at the ports. Watch the full segment →
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American Shipper · The Daily — published weekdays
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