US Rail Companies Must Now Clear Jams After Labor Win, LA Port Chief Says

(Bloomberg) -- US freight-rail companies need to turn their focus to clearing a backlog of containers at ports and at inland train terminals now that they have reached a tentative labor deal that averts the start of a strike by about 125,000 workers, the chief of Port of Los Angeles said.

There are about 28,000 containers awaiting collection by trains at the biggest US port, a sixfold increase since February, and rail terminals in cities such as Chicago, Kansas City, Missouri, and Dallas are jammed, Executive Director Gene Seroka said.

“Under normal conditions, that number should be zero -- there’s still much more work for all of us to do with today’s announcement of the tentative agreement, everyone can now shift their focus back to the work on the ground,” he told reporters in a virtual briefing Thursday. “Getting those import containers off and into the domestic economy is key to improving rail flow at US ports.”

Almost 60% of the units for pickup have been sitting on the docks for nine days or longer, he said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/us-rail-companies-must-now-clear-jams-after-labor-win-la-port-chief-says/ar-AA11StZP