D-Wave Pilot at Port of Los Angeles Shows Quantum Annealing Can Boost Logistics Throughput
September 5, 2022
The global logistics sector entered 2022 under immense strain. Ongoing supply chain disruptions, container shortages, and record congestion at major ports highlighted the need for operational innovation. Against this backdrop, a breakthrough collaboration unfolded at the Port of Los Angeles. On September 5, 2022, D-Wave Systems, in partnership with SavantX, launched a commercial-scale pilot demonstrating how quantum annealing can optimize container stacking and yard operations in one of the world’s busiest shipping hubs.
This pilot, conducted at Pier 300 in Los Angeles, signaled more than a technical experiment. It represented a shift in how logistics operators might use next-generation computation to handle rising cargo volumes with greater efficiency and reduced environmental cost.
Port Operations Under Optimization Pressure
The Port of Los Angeles serves as the busiest container port in the United States, moving millions of TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) annually. In such an environment, even minor inefficiencies cascade into significant consequences. A single misplaced container can ripple through crane schedules, delay truck appointments, and extend vessel turnaround times.
By 2022, bottlenecks had grown so severe that vessel wait times extended into weeks during peak congestion. Trucks queued for hours, wasting fuel, while cranes operated below maximum efficiency. The port, like many around the world, recognized that classical optimization techniques were insufficient to keep pace with dynamic, large-scale scheduling demands.
Container stacking in particular stood out as a pain point. Decisions about where to place containers in the yard directly affect crane movements, truck dwell times, and overall throughput. Traditional heuristic systems provided workable but suboptimal solutions. The question became: could quantum computing do better?
The SavantX–D-Wave Annealing Pilot
SavantX, a Santa Fe-based technology company, had already developed its HONE (Hyper Optimization Nodal Efficiency) platform to address port inefficiencies. In September 2022, the company partnered with D-Wave to apply quantum annealing to container stacking at the Port of Los Angeles.
At the technical core of the pilot was the QUBO (Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization) formulation. Each container placement and crane assignment was represented as a set of binary variables. The quantum annealer, hosted via D-Wave’s Advantage system, processed thousands of possible yard configurations in parallel to identify those minimizing unnecessary moves and aligning container positions with truck and vessel schedules.
The pilot workflow followed a clear sequence:
Data ingestion – Real-time truck schedules, vessel manifests, and yard layouts were fed into the system.
QUBO formulation – Optimization problems were modeled using binary encodings of container placements.
Quantum annealing runs – The D-Wave Advantage annealer generated candidate stacking solutions.
Integration with terminal systems – Optimized results were displayed on operator dashboards for human review and approval.
Feedback cycles – Yard operations fed performance back into the model, allowing re-optimization every hour.
This closed loop represented one of the first large-scale integrations of quantum optimization into a live U.S. container terminal.
Outcomes: Measurable Operational Improvements
Early results from the pilot exceeded expectations. At Pier 300, the system delivered:
62% increase in crane deliveries per day compared to baseline operations.
Reduction of truck wait times by approximately 10 minutes per visit, a significant improvement when multiplied across thousands of daily appointments.
Greater yard turnover and crane efficiency, reducing congestion and accelerating vessel service.
Though framed as a pilot, these results suggested that quantum annealing could outperform both heuristic algorithms and manual scheduling practices. For an industry accustomed to incremental efficiency gains, such performance improvements were striking.
Why Critical Timing Matters
The timing of this pilot carried weight. By late 2022, supply chains were still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, labor shortages, and geopolitical disruptions. Port congestion was not merely a U.S. issue—it was global, affecting everything from electronics to food distribution.
While companies like IBM, Volkswagen, and Airbus had explored theoretical logistics use cases for quantum computing, D-Wave’s work at Los Angeles was among the first to yield measured, operational outcomes in a live shipping terminal. The ability to point to concrete metrics like throughput gains and reduced dwell times elevated quantum logistics from concept to commercial reality.
Global Ripples & Industry Adoption
News of the pilot reverberated across the maritime industry. Within months:
Port authorities in Rotterdam and Hamburg launched feasibility studies based on similar container stacking models.
Global carriers including MSC and CMA CGM began examining whether quantum optimization could improve turnaround times across their networks.
Vendors such as Navis and Kalmar expressed interest in embedding quantum optimization APIs into their software and crane automation platforms.
The Los Angeles pilot effectively demonstrated that quantum annealing could slot into existing workflows without requiring wholesale infrastructure replacement—an essential factor in encouraging adoption.
Limitations & Scalability Challenges
Despite promising data, the pilot also revealed constraints.
Hardware access remains an issue, as D-Wave’s Advantage system is primarily cloud-based, introducing latency compared to on-premise deployments.
Problem size is bounded by the number of qubits, limiting the scale of optimization batches.
Operational variability such as weather, labor shortages, or equipment downtime introduces factors that optimization models cannot fully anticipate.
Human trust in algorithmic decision-making remains a hurdle, with operators reluctant to fully delegate critical yard operations.
These challenges underscore that quantum logistics is still in early development. Scaling from pilot to full-scale deployment requires technical, organizational, and cultural adaptation.
Roadmap for Broader Adoption
Looking ahead from September 2022, several initiatives were set in motion:
Multi-terminal pilots in Antwerp and Singapore testing QUBO stacking logic across 100+ containers per batch.
Refined solver performance through improved annealing schedules and enhanced constraint modeling.
Expansion to multimodal logistics, integrating container stacking with truck routing and rail sequencing.
Standards development via industry working groups aiming to define benchmarks for quantum logistics optimization.
These roadmaps reflected growing confidence that quantum tools could move from research pilots to enterprise platforms within the next few years.
Ecosystem Reinforcement: Quantum-Logistics Alignment
Industry discourse in September 2022 reinforced the importance of the Los Angeles trial.
IBM’s logistics report (August 2022) identified port scheduling as a prime early-stage quantum use case.
A Zapata-led survey published September 30, 2022 reported that 63% of logistics companies were already exploring quantum pilots, with ports and distribution centers at the forefront.
SupplyChainBrain and other trade outlets highlighted D-Wave’s work as a leading example of real-world annealing application.
The convergence of pilot success and market readiness created a fertile environment for broader adoption.
Strategic Significance for Global Logistics
The Port of Los Angeles pilot demonstrated quantum’s value along multiple vectors:
Commercial viability – Data-backed results encouraged industry confidence.
Environmental sustainability – Reduced crane moves and idle times directly lowered emissions.
Operational resilience – Real-time re-optimization improved adaptability to congestion and disruptions.
Competitive advantage – Early adopters could position themselves as leaders in logistics innovation.
Such outcomes elevated quantum annealing from a promising theory to a tangible differentiator in global supply chains.
Conclusion
The September 5, 2022 pilot at the Port of Los Angeles stands as a landmark in the evolution of quantum logistics. By pairing D-Wave’s annealing technology with SavantX’s HONE platform, the project delivered measurable throughput gains in one of the most complex logistics environments on earth.
While challenges remain in scaling, trust, and hardware access, the pilot proved that quantum annealing can deliver operational value where classical methods struggle. For an industry under immense pressure to move goods faster, greener, and more efficiently, the experiment provided both a proof-of-concept and a roadmap.
As other ports and carriers explore quantum optimization, the Los Angeles trial may be remembered as the inflection point when quantum computing crossed from potential to practice in global logistics. Container stacking—once seen as a routine yard management task—has become the proving ground for one of the world’s most advanced computational technologies.