As part of a nationwide movement of CEOs across the American supply and logistics chain, Association of American Railroads President and CEO Ian Jefferies said expanding service hours to ease congestion near the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach would capitalize on the 24/7 operation of railroads.
The expanded hours would also make the best use of available capacity to accommodate additional containers at intermodal rail yards serving those California ports.
“Railroads have long been 24/7 operations and have remained a resilient, vital part of keeping goods moving across the nation during this challenging time,” Jefferies said. “While this is a shot in the arm to increase capacity before containers reach rail lines, the industry knows close coordination with its trucking partners is critical to accelerate the movement of goods out of intermodal yards and into warehouses. Collaborative efforts like what was announced today, are vital to help ease pain points and smoothly pass goods from one leg of the freight logistics relay to the next.”
During a meeting between CEOs in the private sector with President Joe Biden and other key administration officials on Wednesday, Jefferies said proactive collaboration across the supply chain was essential in breaking down bottlenecks. He urged policymakers to be wary when considering new requirements or regulations on the rail industry, as they could limit the railroads’ ability to efficiently move freight.
The administration said the two ports would be expanding their hours to 24/7 in an effort to unload an estimated 500,000 containers on cargo ships waiting in the ports offshore. Retailers like Walmart, Target, Amazon and others also said they would be expanding their overnight operations to meet delivery needs.