Rail delays in Chicago caused by major chassis shortages have now rolled out to Minneapolis and St. Paul. The congestion in Chicago was poor at the end of last year, when street dwell times for chassis was over 4 days long, leaving containers idling at Union Pacific’s largest Chicago terminal. Just last week dwell times had increased 30% to over 5 days long.
Chassis Shortage Spreads
Because Chicago is the largest interior rail hub in the United States, resources like chassis are being diverted there whenever possible, leaving nearby terminals waiting, such as BNSF Railway’s St. Paul terminal where beneficial cargo owners (BOC’s) are unable to get their containers without chassis.
Record Level Volumes
Of course, these chassis shortages come at a time when Chicago is handling record-breaking container volumes. The escalating rail volume in Chicago originates from Southern California, where about one-third of the volume of 40-foot containers are fed into the Midwest.
Rising Dwell Times
Local chassis rental companies have confirmed that the number of out-of-service chassis was near zero. Therefore, escalating dwell times appear to be the major cause of the shortages.
BCOs in Chicago, as well as in Minneapolis and St. Paul are being pressured to return equipment as soon as possible, to help alleviate the congestion issues which only appear to be getting worse.
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