Hurricane Laura Trucking Update

Hurricane Laura made landfall on August 27th in the Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm, unleashing catastrophic and deadly storm surges, extreme winds, and flash flooding on the region. While Laura has since been downgraded to a Category 1 storm, high winds and flood waters continue to persist in the area. The full extent of the damage is not yet known. We hope you and your loved ones are safe.

The Global Source team is in close and constant contact with our carrier network. Here are the latest updates. Please share this information with your customers and please continue to help them navigate this challenging situation.

 

LTL:

  • ODFL:
    • Baton Rouge, LA, and New Orleans, LA terminals are closed.
  • XPO:
    • Sailings between Puerto Rico and Jacksonville will experience a 1-2-day delay.
    • Lafayette, LA, and Houston, TX, are open and offering limited pickup and delivery service as conditions allow.
  • SEFL:
    • The following service centers are running limited operations today (08.27.20):
      • Baton Rouge, Louisiana (BTR)
      • New Orleans, Louisiana (NRL)
      • South Houston, Texas (SHO)
      • Tyler, Texas (TYR)
    • The following are closed today and an embargo is in place for shipments destined to these service centers:
      • Lafayette, Louisiana (LAF)
      • Monroe, Louisiana (MON)
      • Orange, Texas (OTX)
      • Shreveport, Louisiana (SHV)
  • SMTL:
    • Service is suspended in the Beaumont, TX, and Orange, TX, areas beginning Wednesday, August 26.
    • Service will most likely be suspended East of Houston on Thursday, August 27, and Friday, August 28.

 

  • Truckload:
    • Spot rates are increasing throughout the Southeast.
    • Capacity may be affected in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama due to flooding, storms, and potential tornados.
    • Shippers will likely experience capacity constraints due to carriers prioritizing available trucks for transporting FEMA relief and emergency supplies.

Highway Closures:

  • The eastbound lane of I-10 is closed at the Texas/Louisiana state line.
  • I-10 westbound is closed west of the Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana.
  • There are detours available via U.S 61, I-55, and I-59 north to I-20, but most carriers will be avoiding the area entirely so there will be capacity limitations.

Rail Closures:

  • The New Orleans flood gates are closed, affecting traffic interchanging with eastern carriers. Some trains are being rerouted over Memphis during the outage.
  • Union Pacific:
    • The Avondale, LA intermodal terminal is closed until further notice.
    • The Settegast and Englewood intermodal terminals in Houston, TX will be closed effective 1200 CT on August 26th. These closures apply to inbound and outbound intermodal gate activity.
  • BNSF Railway:
    • BNSF is holding all New Orleans-bound trains from moving into the area and re-routing traffic as needed.

Port Closures:

  • All Port Houston offices and terminals are closed.
  • The Port of Beaumont in southeast Texas will be closed until Monday.
  • The Port of Galveston in Texas remains closed through Friday.
  • The Port of Corpus Christi in Texas is open and operating normally.
  • Calls to the nearby seaport in Port Arthur, Texas, went unanswered. It is not known if the port is open or sustained damage in the storm.
  • The Port of New Orleans’ cargo terminals are operating normally.
  • Louisiana’s Port of Baton Rouge is operating normally.

Regulatory Updates:

  • The FMCSA issued a Regional Emergency Declaration granting an exemption from Parts 390 through 399 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) in order to support the immediate transportation of supplies, goods, equipment, fuel, and persons to the region. Please read the declaration here.

This continues to be a quickly developing situation. We will provide additional updates as more information becomes available. Please keep those affected by the storm in your thoughts.