07/15/2021

Beginning Monday, 07/19/21, Union Pacific Railway (UP) will suspend all international intermodal service from West Coast origins Los Angeles, Long Beach, Tacoma and Oakland to its Global IV terminal in Joliet, IL for seven days.

The railroad says this is necessary to relieve the significant congestion at the inland terminal where an estimated 2,000 (even 3,000 by some counts) container are currently on hand without chassis being available to move them. Some containers have been stuck in the terminal for over a month.

The railroad takes the measure to not further increase the congestion in the Chicago hub, it hopes to be able to clear a large amount of containers within the week the suspension will be in place initially.

UP states that any confirmed reservations will be honored but no new reservations will be allowed from the four West Coast ports. Backhaul reservations will also be either cut or suspended from various inland points.

We are monitoring the situation and will provide further updates when they become available.

Please contact your V. Alexander Account Team to discuss any shipments that might be affected by this service suspension and follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.