Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT) Tracking: FIRMS, Vessel Schedule, Gate Hours

Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT) is the semi automated Pier E container facility inside the Port of Long Beach, operating at 201 S. Pico Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90802, under FIRMS code WAC8. LBCT sits on the Middle Harbor Redevelopment footprint that consolidated the former Piers D, E, and F into a single roughly 300 acre terminal that opened in April 2016. It is the most heavily automated marine container terminal on the US West Coast, with automated stacking cranes, automated guided vehicles, and a majority zero emission equipment fleet. For freight forwarders and drayage operators, LBCT is the point of truth for container availability, vessel schedules, and gate appointments on Ocean Alliance services calling Long Beach.

This glossary covers what LBCT is, where it sits inside the Port of Long Beach, its FIRMS code, its gate and appointment rules, the carriers that call it, what the automation actually means for a forwarder booking a cargo, how to track containers and vessels at LBCT, and how LBCT compares to the neighboring ITS Terminal at Pier G and TTI at Pier T.

What Is Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT)?

Long Beach Container Terminal LLC is the legal operator entity. From 2012 until 2019, the terminal was leased and operated by OOCL under a 40 year lease. In 2019, Australia based Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets acquired LBCT and assumed the lease, and Macquarie remains the operating owner. OOCL still calls LBCT as a customer because OOCL is a member of the Ocean Alliance.

LBCT Address, Operator, and FIRMS Code

The Port of Long Beach publishes LBCT under a single point address, but drayage software, FIRMS lookups, and terminal portals also use several standardized codes. If you send a driver to the wrong pier or file a shipment against the wrong FIRMS code, the container will not clear customs and the drayage window will slip.

For forwarders running an Ocean Freight Management Software stack, WAC8 is the FIRMS code to bind to any shipment discharged at LBCT so downstream ISF, entry, and drayage records line up cleanly.

LBCT Gate Hours and Appointment System

LBCT uses the eModal appointment system shared across the San Pedro Bay terminals. Every dray move at LBCT, both empty and loaded, in and out, requires an appointment booked in eModal against the container number and the driver's UIIA or motor carrier account.

Gate hours at LBCT follow the San Pedro Bay standard first shift schedule Monday through Friday, with a Saturday second shift published on a week to week basis on the LBCT truck gate page. LBCT also runs periodic double flex gate windows, opening cargo availability as early as 6 AM to smooth peak periods. Because Saturday and weeknight gate windows change with vessel arrivals, forwarders should always confirm the current schedule on the LBCT truck gate page and inside eModal before dispatching a driver.

Typical LBCT gate rules to plan around:

• Every transaction needs an eModal appointment. Missing the appointment window means the driver is turned away at the in gate.
• Appointment leeway is 30 minutes on either side of the booked slot.
• Drivers no longer carry a paper gate pass ticket. They call in an eModal gate code (up to six digits) at the in gate speaker.
• TWIC card is required for every driver, per US Coast Guard rules for marine terminal access.
• A pre trip check on chassis roadability is required before the driver leaves the gate.

Carriers Served at LBCT

LBCT is the primary US West Coast call for Ocean Alliance vessel strings. Ocean Alliance is made up of CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, and OOCL, and the alliance partners extended their cooperation through 2032. Because Ocean Alliance operates roughly 5.3 million TEU of combined capacity across its four members and 394 vessels in the DAY 10 network taking effect in 2026, a large share of the containers moving through LBCT are on Ocean Alliance service loops from Asia, transpacific eastbound.

Carriers that publish LBCT as a US West Coast call include:

• CMA CGM (Ocean Alliance, transpacific eastbound and intra Asia services routed via Long Beach)
• COSCO Shipping Lines (Ocean Alliance)
• Evergreen Line (Ocean Alliance)
• OOCL (Ocean Alliance, LBCT's original tenant carrier)

LBCT Automation: Why It Is Different

LBCT is the most heavily automated marine container terminal in North America and the design reference for what a modern semi automated Pacific terminal looks like. The automation is not a marketing line. It changes the operational reality for forwarders, drayage operators, and the shippers whose cargo moves through it.

Three automation layers stack together at LBCT:

An additional 5 intermodal rail mounted gantries (RMGs) handle the on dock rail transfer to the Alameda Corridor, giving LBCT direct on dock rail access to the US inland network without a separate off dock rail move.

The sustainability layer sits on top of the automation. Roughly 63 percent of LBCT's heavy equipment fleet, including the AGV fleet, is zero tailpipe emission, the highest share of any US West Coast marine terminal. Once LBCT completes turnover of its current fleet of 64 yard tractors, its remaining emissions drop by roughly 93 percent.

For a forwarder, the practical implication is simple. LBCT is designed for high volume, predictable throughput on Ocean Alliance service loops, and its container availability, hold, and release signals are typically fast and clean when the eModal appointment discipline is followed on the drayage side.

Container Availability and Vessel Schedule

Container tracking at LBCT runs across three surfaces, and a well set up forwarding operation stitches all three into a single view for the customer.

1. The LBCT trucker and customer portal

The LBCT trucker portal at portal.lbct.com is the terminal side source of truth for container status. Once a container is discharged, the portal shows the box as available for pickup, on hold (customs, freight, or exam), the Last Free Day for demurrage, and the appointment slots open in eModal.

2. The ocean carrier portal

The carrier that shipped the container (typically Ocean Alliance members CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, or OOCL for LBCT) publishes the vessel and voyage schedule, container discharge status, freight release, and telex release status on its own tracking portal. Container status can show as available at the carrier level before it becomes available at the terminal level, so the two sources should be reconciled together.

3. The forwarder's own tracking platform

A modern forwarder platform pulls both surfaces automatically. A Shipment Tracking & Operations Software for Forwarders system reads the LBCT terminal availability, the ocean carrier milestones, the AIS vessel ETA, and the drayage dispatch status into a single shipment record. The customer sees a single, consistent status from booking to final delivery, without checking three separate portals.

The LBCT vessel schedule specifically comes from the carrier service string calendar, published on each Ocean Alliance member's own website, plus the LBCT operations page for the current berth window and the AIS position for vessel proximity.

LBCT vs ITS vs TTI: The Three Long Beach Container Terminals

The Port of Long Beach hosts three major container terminals a forwarder is likely to route through. They serve different alliances and have very different operating profiles, and picking the right terminal for a service string matters for both cost and speed.

How Forwarders Streamline LBCT Drayage

LBCT's automation gives forwarders a real productivity edge if the drayage operation is set up to match. The three practical moves that separate a smooth LBCT dispatch from a repeatedly rejected one:

• Bind the FIRMS code at booking. WAC8 is the LBCT FIRMS code. Set it on the ISF filing, the entry, and the drayage dispatch record so every downstream system reads the same terminal.
• Book the eModal appointment before the driver leaves the yard. LBCT will not grant a courtesy gate in. Missing the appointment window forfeits the driver's turn and pushes the container into demurrage risk.
• Pull the terminal side and carrier side status into one shipment record. Container availability at LBCT can lag the carrier discharge status by hours because of the ASC yard staging. A single dashboard prevents the driver being dispatched too early to a container that is still in the automated stack.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT)?

Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT) is the semi automated Pier E container facility at the Port of Long Beach, California. It sits at 201 S. Pico Avenue on the Middle Harbor Redevelopment site that opened in April 2016 and consolidated the former Piers D, E, and F. LBCT is operated by Long Beach Container Terminal LLC, owned since 2019 by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, and is the anchor US West Coast call for Ocean Alliance vessel strings.

What is the FIRMS code for LBCT?

The FIRMS code for Long Beach Container Terminal is WAC8. FIRMS (Facilities Information and Resources Management System) is the CBP identifier that binds a shipment record to a specific bonded facility. LBCT also carries SMDG code LBCT and sits under Unlocode USLGB (Port of Long Beach). Any shipment discharged at LBCT should carry WAC8 on the ISF filing, entry, and drayage record so every downstream system reads the same terminal.

What carriers call at LBCT?

LBCT is the anchor US West Coast call for Ocean Alliance, which is composed of CMA CGM, COSCO Shipping Lines, Evergreen Line, and OOCL. The alliance extended its cooperation through 2032. Its DAY 10 network, taking effect in 2026, deploys roughly 394 vessels with a combined capacity of about 5.3 million TEU across the four member carriers, and a large share of that capacity calls LBCT on transpacific eastbound service loops.

What makes LBCT different from other Long Beach terminals?

LBCT is the most heavily automated marine container terminal on the US West Coast. Its yard runs on 70 automated stacking cranes fed by an automated guided vehicle fleet from a planned 14 semi automated dual hoist ship to shore cranes on the wharf. Roughly 63 percent of its heavy equipment is zero tailpipe emission, the highest share of any US West Coast marine terminal. This means high, predictable throughput on Ocean Alliance services and cleaner container availability signals when eModal appointments are followed on the drayage side.

How do I check container availability at LBCT?

Container availability at LBCT is published on the LBCT trucker portal at portal.lbct.com once the container is discharged and cleared of holds. The portal shows the box as available for pickup, on hold (customs, freight, or exam), the Last Free Day for demurrage, and the eModal appointment slots. Container status can also be reconciled against the ocean carrier's own tracking portal (CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, or OOCL for Ocean Alliance services), because carrier level discharge status can post ahead of terminal level availability.

Where can I find the LBCT vessel schedule?

The LBCT vessel schedule is published on the LBCT operations page for berth windows and on each Ocean Alliance member's own website for the underlying service string calendar. Because Ocean Alliance carriers (CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, OOCL) rotate the anchor services at LBCT, the carrier service loop schedule is the source of truth for vessel and voyage ETA. Third party AIS and terminal visibility platforms mirror the same rotations. Vessel and voyage matching (for example, a specific voyage number like V001W) should be done against the carrier's own service string schedule.

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