Why does port congestion persist even when import volumes don't explain it?

Port congestion is driven by inland clearance speed, not volume alone. When import dwell and rail dwell times climb, trucks struggle to return empty containers, chassis run short, and loaded imports queue at ports waiting for equipment. The article notes that August volumes ran near record levels yet trucking firms still faced weak demand, indicating that the constraint is equipment availability and inland processing, not port operator capacity.

What is equipment velocity and why does it matter more than total yard space?

Equipment velocity measures how quickly a chassis or container completes a full cycle: arrival, processing, maintenance and repair (M&R), and return to service. According to Vahooman Mirkhaef of Cub Terminal, faster cycles inland increase the usable supply of assets without purchasing additional equipment. Idle equipment hurts the entire network because containers waiting on inspection or M&R tie up chassis beneath them, removing capacity from circulation network-wide rather than creating a local inconvenience.

What concrete metrics should terminals track to measure inland readiness?

The article identifies dwell time, gate turn time, equipment cycle time, and on-time departures as the core measurable metrics. The key discipline is reviewing these metrics on a fixed cadence (weekly is recommended) and acting on variance before it becomes backlog. Monthly reports explaining problems after they develop are less effective than weekly reviews that catch creeping delays early.

How does Chicago's CREATE program demonstrate the value of coordination?

The Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program represents a public-private partnership covering 70 projects and approximately 5.8 billion dollars in investment. It enables six Class I railroads and the Chicago Integrated Rail Operations Center to share visibility and coordinate handoffs. Mirkhaef explains that handoffs between railroads, drayage providers, and terminals are where delays tend to form, so shared visibility across carriers helps close those operational gaps.

Can terminals solve congestion without new construction?

Yes. The article emphasizes that new terminal construction takes years, so faster gains come from optimizing existing facilities. Modernization of yard layout, appointment systems, gate processes, and data visibility can remove localized constraints. Ensuring facilities are operationally ready for stress and can turn equipment quickly when the network tightens is achievable through discipline and procedural rigor without major capital projects.

Warehousing & Distribution

High Impact

Why Inland Terminals Hold the Key to Port Resilience

Oct 23, 2026

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The signal

Port congestion is visible but symptomatic. The real determinant of network resilience is inland terminal performance: how quickly containers and chassis move through yards, clear for inspection and maintenance, and return to service.

When inland facilities bottleneck, dwell times stretch, empty returns fail, and port yards fill with idle equipment even as import volumes remain high. Chicago's intermodal hub, where nearly half of U.S. rail-intermodal traffic flows, demonstrates how scale, multi-carrier coordination, and operational discipline at inland nodes absorb demand spikes and prevent localized delays from cascading across the network.

Shippers and port operators cannot solve congestion by focusing only on gateway operations: they must invest in inland readiness through terminal modernization, maintenance infrastructure, appointment system discipline, and data visibility that synchronizes handoffs between railroads, drayage carriers, and facilities.

How this affects:

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Frequently Asked Questions

What This Means for Your Supply Chain

Simulation Suggestion

this week

What if inland dwell times increase by 48 hours across major intermodal hubs?

Simulate a scenario where import dwell time at inland terminals increases by 2 days due to labor constraints or maintenance backlogs. Model the resulting impact on equipment velocity, empty container return cycles, chassis availability at ports, and loaded import queue times at gateway facilities.

Run this scenario

Simulation Suggestion

immediate

What if Chicago's rail handoff coordination breaks down for one week?

Model the impact of losing shared visibility and coordination between Class I railroads at Chicago's Integrated Rail Operations Center for 7 days. Track cascading delays across drayage, port yard congestion, and equipment return cycles across the broader North American network.

Run this scenario

Simulation Suggestion

this month

What if maintenance and repair capacity declines by 20 percent at major inland yards?

Simulate reduced M&R throughput at inland terminals, causing containers and chassis to remain in yards longer. Model the impact on equipment cycle times, usable asset supply, empty container returns to ports, and the resulting port yard congestion and vessel delays.

Run this scenario

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