America’s ports are operating today even as a federal funding lapse triggered a government shutdown at 12:01 a.m. ET on October 1. The key takeaway for drayage and over-the-road carriers: freight can still be cleared and moved, but cargoes that need decisions from non-CBP agencies are primed for delays that can ripple into yards, chassis pools and appointment schedules.
Customs officers remain on the job. The Department of Homeland Security’s contingency posture keeps U.S. Customs and Border Protection revenue collection and frontline functions running, meaning duties are assessed and cargo inspections continue. That keeps the core import pipeline from seizing up, but it doesn’t eliminate bottlenecks tied to other agencies’ sign-offs.
Ports themselves are signaling “business as usual” where they can. The Port of Seattle said on September 30 that its facilities, including cargo terminals at SEA Airport and cruise berths, would remain open and that it is working with federal partners to keep operations as close to normal as possible. For truckers, that means gates are open—but container availability may still hinge on federal release messages.
Where the friction starts: partner-agency approvals. With the shutdown in effect, agencies beyond CBP face furloughs or curtailed activities. The EPA is among the departments with large cutbacks, and Labor and Commerce halted data releases; while USDA will maintain essential food safety and animal health inspections, noncritical work pauses. For shippers moving commodities that require EPA or FDA touches—or entries that depend on partner-government-agency flags—expect holds to linger longer and plan for more yard dwell and rework of pickup windows.
Transportation knock-ons will add to the noise even if ports keep working. The Department of Transportation said an appropriations lapse would sideline thousands at the FAA, a reminder that support functions across the transportation system—not just at airports—are running lean. The direct maritime impact may be muted day one, but thinner federal staffing in back offices often shows up a few days later as slower responses to waivers, approvals and grant paperwork that ports and tenants rely on.
Planning is harder when the dashboards go dark. With Labor Department releases—including weekly jobless claims and the September employment report—on ice during the shutdown, carriers and brokers lose high-frequency signals they use to calibrate staffing, lane pricing and equipment positioning. Expect more conservative forecasting and tighter appointment discipline from importers until government data starts flowing again.
What this means on the ground for trucking companies serving the ports: treat every PGA-dependent container as a potential slow-mover; build extra buffer into free-time clocks; confirm terminal availability before dispatch; and communicate early with BCOs about re-sequencing pickups if one SKU in a mixed load is awaiting release. The upside is that CBP’s continued operations should keep a baseline of freight moving, limiting the risk of a full stop at the marine terminals.
The bottom line: the shutdown is unlikely to close the gates, but it will test the links between customs clearance and the specialized approvals many shipments require. For drayage fleets and their shipper customers, the next few days are about managing the gray area—containers that are physically ready but not yet legally releasable—and protecting against detention and demurrage through tighter coordination.
Sources: FreightWaves, Reuters, The Washington Post, Port of Seattle
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