Why Port Congestion Is Surging Again—and How Dock Scheduling Software Can Help

Port congestion is again posing a serious threat to supply chain velocity, particularly on the U.S. West Coast. With tariff deadlines on Chinese goods fast approaching, shippers are accelerating their import schedules. As a result, major ports like Los Angeles and Long Beach are reaching volume thresholds not seen since the pandemic-era surge. But while vessels and TEUs make the headlines, the real cost accumulates at the yard and dock level, in inland facilities unprepared to absorb the wave.

Now, logistics and operations leaders are deploying dock scheduling software and Yard Management Systems (YMS) to stabilize throughput, reduce dwell time, and reclaim control from the chaos.

The New Congestion Crisis

The Port of Los Angeles moved 892,340 TEUs in June 2025, the highest June volume in its 117-year history, and an 8% increase year-over-year. First-half volumes exceeded 4.96 million TEUs, driven largely by a rush to beat new tariffs set to take effect in Q3 2025.

The numbers tell a broader story:

• Loaded imports: 470,450 TEUs in June (+10% YoY)
• Loaded exports: 126,144 TEUs (+3%)
• Empty container movements: 295,746 TEUs (+7%)
• Long Beach processed 4.75 million TEUs in H1 2025 (+10.6%)
  
  

At a glance, ports are “handling it.” But operational cracks are showing, particularly for inland logistics teams. According to carrier updates, dwell times at the Port of LA now average between 3 and 4 days. At Long Beach, that number stretches to 4–8 days depending on the terminal and shift schedules.

And it’s not just containerized imports. Delayed rail pickup, missed transload windows, and chassis shortages are compounding gridlock. Port-to-yard velocity is slowing, triggering overflow at 3PL yards and delays at distribution centers.

From an operations perspective, the root problem isn’t port infrastructure; it’s the lack of orchestration between the yard and the broader supply chain. The bottlenecks are systemic and follow freight all the way to the final dock.

Root Causes: Yard and Dock Bottlenecks

Inside the port, terminals have invested in berth management and automated cranes. But once containers are released inland, the structure often falls apart. Distribution centers and 3PL yards rely heavily on manual processes: spreadsheets for appointments, whiteboards for trailer tracking, radios or text messages for spotter moves. This setup works under normal flow, but collapses during volume surges.

Common operational issues include:

• Appointment clustering: Without guardrail logic, multiple trucks arrive in the same window, overwhelming gate and dock resources.
• Trailer ambiguity: In yards without PO-to-trailer traceability, teams open trailers manually to confirm their contents, which costs time and disrupts prioritization.
• Detention and idle time: Trucks sit waiting for docks, or linger in drop zones without instruction, triggering carrier penalties and lost labor hours.
• Reactive planning: Teams firefight exceptions as they arise rather than having predictive insights to shift resources earlier.
  
  

This creates ripple effects that break SLAs, erode carrier relationships, and raise the total landed cost of goods. The issue isn’t just about speed; it’s about synchronization. Facilities must operate in real time, just like ports, with full visibility and digital accountability. Without it, congestion doesn’t end at the gate; it begins there.

How Dock Scheduling Software & YMS Tackle Congestion

Modern YMS platforms and dock scheduling software provide a way out, not by adding capacity, but by optimizing the flow within existing capacity.

Automated Dock Scheduling:

With an automated appointment system, carriers can self-book slots based on predefined rules and capacity limits. These systems balance arrivals across shifts, reduce bottlenecks, and minimize late arrivals or no-shows. Instead of a flood of drivers arriving between 7–10 a.m., carriers are staggered intelligently, aligned with dock availability and labor schedules.

Real-Time Yard Visibility:

A modern YMS gives logistics teams granular visibility: where every trailer is parked, how long it’s been idle, what POs it contains, and whether it’s ready to be unloaded. This eliminates the need to “hunt” for trailers and allows planners to make informed decisions on prioritization.

AI-Powered Prioritization:

With AI, scheduling platforms adjust in real time. For example, if a hot shipment is delayed at port and won’t make its appointment, the system can reassign that dock to another priority move, notify stakeholders, and maintain flow without interruption. Platforms like Velostics offer AI-driven slotting and decision intelligence to reduce dwell and maximize utilization.

KPI Tracking and Optimization:

Dock scheduling tools track dwell time, detention cost, throughput per dock, and appointment adherence. These insights help operations teams move from reactive to proactive: identifying underperforming shifts, uncovering congestion patterns, and modeling alternatives.

This tech is not a luxury; it’s now a requirement for resiliency in volatile supply chain environments.

Guided Framework: How to Unclog Yard & Dock Bottlenecks

For operations leaders aiming to stay ahead of the next wave of congestion, it’s no longer enough to react. Resilience now depends on orchestration—coordinating people, processes, and systems in real time across the supply chain. Below is a practical, scalable blueprint to bring port-grade efficiency to your yard and dock operations. These are the same principles that underpin throughput at high-velocity terminals—and they’re now accessible to shippers, 3PLs, and distribution centers through technology platforms like Velostics.

1. Map Congestion Impact

Start by identifying where pressure builds across your network. Pull data from historical port dwell times, carrier ETAs, gate arrivals, and dock utilization by shift. Layer these insights to uncover high-risk windows—specific days, times, and lanes where volumes spike or bottlenecks emerge. This step creates the visibility baseline needed to align labor, space, and scheduling rules.

2. Automate Appointment Scheduling

Move away from static spreadsheets and manual phone calls. Implement a self-service scheduling portal for carriers with built-in controls: spacing rules, dock capacity checks, real-time availability, and credential validation. Automation reduces no-shows, evens out peak traffic, and cuts down on manual back-and-forth—creating a more predictable and manageable operation day-to-day.

3. Enable Real-Time Yard Visibility

Gain a live view of your yard: trailer status, location, dwell time, and cargo contents. Go beyond GPS dots—tie POs to specific trailers so teams know exactly what’s inside, where it is, and when it’s ready. This eliminates unnecessary trailer searches and staging delays, while giving planners better data to optimize slot assignments and resource deployment.

4. Leverage AI for Dynamic Slotting

Congestion is rarely linear—weather delays, port shifts, and traffic can all disrupt even the best-laid plans. Instead of static schedules, deploy AI that can continuously adjust dock assignments, prioritize high-urgency shipments, and rebalance workload as real-world conditions evolve. Velostics, for example, uses adaptive slotting that factors in trailer readiness, truck ETA, and urgency, helping you protect throughput without overwhelming your team.

5. Track and Act on Operational KPIs

You can’t fix what you can’t measure. Establish daily benchmarks for dwell time, detention hours, throughput per dock, and appointment compliance. Use these to evaluate performance by shift, carrier, and facility—then act. Data should drive continuous improvements, not just post-mortems.

Velostics enables these workflows through a modular, API-first YMS that’s designed for fast deployment and scale. But the tools are only as powerful as the process behind them. The real advantage comes when operations teams combine structured digital workflows with clear accountability and fast decision-making. That’s what turns technology into a congestion buffer—not just a nice-to-have feature.

Conclusion: Build a Resilient Yard–Dock Network

Surging tariffs, shifting global trade policies, and unpredictable climate disruptions aren’t outliers—they’re the new operating environment for logistics. While ports have invested heavily in digitization and automation, many yards and docks still rely on fragmented, manual processes that can’t absorb volatility.

The real challenge isn’t just capacity, it’s coordination. Without real-time scheduling, visibility, and decision logic, even the best-equipped facility becomes a bottleneck under pressure.

Dock scheduling software and Yard Management Systems aren’t optional upgrades; they’re essential infrastructure for modern logistics. They enable synchronized handoffs between ports, yards, and warehouses, keeping freight moving when it matters most.

The next wave of disruption is not a question of “if,” but “when.” Operations teams that invest in orchestration today—linking appointment logic, trailer visibility, and adaptive planning—will lead with speed, reliability, and cost control tomorrow.

Resilience isn’t about reacting faster. It’s about being ready before the surge arrives. And that starts in your yard.