Exposing bottlenecks before delays hit

Kuehne+Nagel and Drayman: Anticipating disruption

Every day, thousands of containers move through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, a gateway that supports retailers, manufacturers, and millions of consumers across the United States. Yet beneath the surface of this critical flow lies a growing landside challenge that most shippers cannot see until it’s too late.

Drayage isn’t always smooth sailing. Congestion, delays, and disruption are part of the reality at America’s busiest ports. With the Vincent Thomas Bridge closure and mobility restrictions expected ahead of the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028, pressure on the Los Angeles and Long Beach gateway is only set to intensify.

As a trusted partner, Kuehne+Nagel is stepping into this conversation early. While many providers react once bottlenecks hit, we proactively help shippers navigate what’s ahead.

Through Drayman, we bring visibility to the forces shaping port operations today so that businesses can anticipate disruption, stay informed, and prepare with confidence.

The Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex already operates at near capacity, with terminals frequently running up to 90% land utilization and drayage drivers facing multi-hour queues. But beginning in 2026, existing congestion will collide with two major events that will intensify pressure:

• The 16+ month closure of the Vincent Thomas Bridge, a critical artery for port trucking, will divert thousands of daily drayage moves onto longer, slower routes, intensifying congestion across the Los Angeles/Long Beach gateway.

• Region-wide mobility constraints ahead of the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 will combine historic traffic volumes, restricted corridors, and ongoing infrastructure works, stretching regional drayage capacity to its limits.

The result? Longer dwell times, rising storage fees, unpredictable pickups, higher transport costs, and less flexibility when it’s needed most.

Kuehne+Nagel estimates that congestion driven inefficiencies can add up to $500–$600 per container in unplanned downstream costs, driven by terminal delays, enforced night gate moves, prepull and off terminal staging, and delayed delivery equipment and storage.

For shippers moving thousands of containers, these seemingly small charges compound rapidly into millions of dollars before cargo ever reaches stores or factories.