North American port turnaround and cargo flows: 26 Oct – 2 Nov 2026

We tracked vessel movements, anchorage waits and draught-based cargo operations across five North American ports between 26 October and 2 November 2026. Vancouver and Los Angeles recorded the highest volume of port calls, while Houston and Vancouver accounted for the vast majority of outward cargo tonnage. Across the five ports, completed median anchor waits ranged between 23 and 34 hours.

Anchor queues and waiting durations

Montreal recorded the longest median anchor wait at 34 hours across 5 completed waits, followed by New York and Houston at 27 hours each across 8 completed waits. Vancouver and Los Angeles saw median waits of 23 hours, based on 39 and 11 completed waits respectively. At the close of the period, 11 ships were anchored at Vancouver, 5 at Los Angeles, 2 each at Houston and New York, and 1 at Montreal. Los Angeles saw its anchored count fall to 5 against a 7-day average of 8, while New York stood at 2 against an average of 2.8. Anchor wait figures reflect completed waits from anchored status to berthing.

Port stays and overall vessel traffic

Port stay medians for completed calls ranged from 21 hours in Houston to 36 hours in Los Angeles, with New York recording 34 hours, Montreal 30 hours, and Vancouver 27 hours. Vessel turnover was highest on the west coast, where Vancouver handled 74 port calls and Los Angeles logged 69 calls over the 7 days. By contrast, New York handled 51 calls, Montreal 40 calls, and Houston 26 calls. Montreal and New York also saw substantial transit activity without terminal stops, logging 29 and 25 passing vessels respectively, compared to 9 in Los Angeles, 6 in Vancouver, and 0 in Houston.

Discharge volumes and import tonnage

Discharged cargo, estimated from AIS draught reductions, was concentrated at the container and tanker gateways. Los Angeles discharged an est. 1.03 Mt (1,030,530 tonnes), leading all five ports, followed by New York with an est. 675k tonnes (674,660 tonnes) and Houston with an est. 456k tonnes (456,220 tonnes). Vancouver discharged an est. 261k tonnes (260,930 tonnes), while Montreal registered an est. 88k tonnes (87,570 tonnes). These totals are provisional estimates calculated from crew-reported draught drops of at least 0.3 m and estimated vessel tonnes-per-centimetre values.

Outward cargo and loading performance

Export loading showed a stark geographical divide, led by the liquid bulk and dry bulk hubs. Houston loaded an est. 1.69 Mt (1,688,860 tonnes) across the week, while Vancouver loaded an est. 1.20 Mt (1,200,030 tonnes). In contrast, outward volumes at New York, Los Angeles, and Montreal were markedly lower at an est. 92k tonnes (92,220 tonnes), an est. 91k tonnes (90,950 tonnes), and an est. 79k tonnes (78,580 tonnes) respectively. Provisional draught readings showed that 63% of readable vessels in Houston (5 of 8) and 56% in Los Angeles (5 of 9) were near laden at 85% or more of capacity.

Open tonnage and inbound vessel pipeline

Houston recorded 28 open dry bulk carriers and tankers that completed discharge during the period, providing the largest pool of prompt tonnage. New York logged 12 open vessels, Montreal 9, Los Angeles 7, and Vancouver 5. The largest open vessels discharging on the west coast included the tankers NEW EXPLORER (about 254k dwt), NEW VITALITY (about 156k dwt), and POLAR ENDEAVOUR (about 126k dwt), all in Los Angeles. Inbound traffic shows Vancouver with 11 ships heading in representing an est. 605,200 dwt, followed by Houston with 6 ships heading in representing an est. 213,800 dwt.

The largest open ships:

• NEW EXPLORER, tanker, about 254k dwt · Los Angeles
• NEW VITALITY, tanker, about 156k dwt · Los Angeles
• POLAR ENDEAVOUR, tanker, about 126k dwt · Los Angeles
• PANTELIS, oil tanker, about 97k dwt · New York
• MINERVA CORALIA, oil tanker, about 96k dwt · Houston
• ELANDRA GULF, oil tanker, about 95k dwt · Houston

Key takeaways

• Vancouver and Los Angeles sustained the highest traffic, handling 74 and 69 port calls respectively.
• Median anchor waiting times ranged from 23 hours in Vancouver and Los Angeles to 34 hours in Montreal.
• Loading was heavily concentrated in Houston at an est. 1.69 Mt and Vancouver at an est. 1.20 Mt.
• Prompt open tonnage was highest in Houston with 28 discharged tankers and bulk carriers, followed by New York with 12.