International ports

Expansion of Duisburg’s container terminals has entered a new stage, taking the large German inland river port one step closer to meeting increased demand and additional rail traffic.

China Merchants Holdings (International) is the second state-owned terminal operator to post positive first half results with total container throughput rising by 18 percent to 38.5 million TEUs, consolidating its position at the top of the mainland’s port operator table.

The peak season is looming over the congested port of Manila as it continues battling to clear cargo and empties before a wave of Christmas container volumes starts arriving in the next two weeks.

German terminal operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA) has unveiled a new berth capable of handling the largest container ships at its Container Terminal Burchardkai at the Port of Hamburg.

U.S. shippers are finding that hedging their bets against possible U.S. West Coast port disruptions by shipping cargo through the Port of Prince Rupert comes with a catch: long delays before imports can be loaded onto the rails.

German-Russian business ties were on full display at a reception in St. Petersburg hosted by the Port of Hamburg, where politics was a main theme of discussion.

Officials at Argentina’s port of Rosario have urged their federal government to suspend a resolution that has banned cargo transshipment through Uruguay, alleging that the measure is severely affecting regional trade, the Buenos Aires Herald reports.

Striking truck drivers at the Chinese port of Ningbo have returned to work after a week of sometimes violent industrial action that brought terminal and drayage operations to a standstill.

The port of Manila is starting to feel the easing effects of measures put in place by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to clear containers that have backed up at the port since a day-time truck ban was imposed in the city in February.

In the latest instance of drayage-related disruption, violence flared at Ningbo’s Beilun Container Port as thousands of striking truck drivers clashed with riot police and smashed the windshields of trucks crossing a picket line. The past week’s protests brought the world’s sixth-largest container port to a standstill, with carriers reportedly diverting ships.

The Ningbo container truck driver strike is escalating with trucks clogging the terminal gates and forwarders warning customers to expect missed sailings and a shortage of boxes as carriers divert some calls to Shanghai.

Container throughput at major state-owned ports in India expanded 5.3 percent year-over-year during April to July, the first four months of fiscal year 2014-15, according to preliminary figures released by the Indian Ports Association.

Violence flared at Ningbo’s Beilun Container Port as thousands of striking truck drivers clashed with riot police and smashed the windshields of trucks crossing a picket line, according to the Hong Kong-based China Labor Bulletin.

Port Metro Vancouver is receiving a modest windfall in container volume thanks to the uncertainties surrounding longshore contract negotiations on the U.S. West Coast, but it might have profited even more if its terminals had more capacity to handle diverted cargo. Projects are planned to expand its capacity substantially over the next 10 years.

Brazilian waterways regulator Antaq approved $1.73 billion in upgrades for ports in Rio de Janeiro and Santos.

China’s robust container throughput growth began to slow at major mainland ports in July as a European restocking drive faded and U.S. orders were brought forward to beat potential West Coast strikes.

A new report released by The Boston Consulting Group indicates traditional views of where low-cost and high-cost manufacturing regions are located are out of date, suggesting companies should modernize their global sourcing and production networks.

The Association of Canadian Port Authorities is warning Canadian policymakers that inadequate development of port infrastructure could hinder the country from taking full advantage of its growing international trade.

Cargo is surging at northern European ports, but it’s not without consequences.

Shanghai International Port (Group) is calling for tenders as it prepares to offload a 20 percent stake in a container terminal joint venture with Hutchison Port Holdings.

Executives at Canada’s two main east coast container ports of Montreal and Halifax say a free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union will boost their volumes.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation and four Panamanian unions have accused the Panama Canal Authority of ongoing failure to provide decent pay and safe working conditions for more than 9,000 affiliated maritime workers in the canal zone.

Asia’s ports reported strengthening of container throughput in the first half as the economic recovery of the U.S. and Europe drove up consumer spending and new export orders flooded into Chinese factories.

The third set of Panama Canal locks aren't even completed yet, and yet Panama continues to talk openly about a fourth set of locks to handle even bigger ships.

Troubles in the Pacific Northwest dominated the news this week.

The port of Zeebrugge boosted container volume by 9.9 percent in the first half of the year, easily outpacing growth at larger rivals in the Le Havre-Hamburg range.

Manila’s container congestion saga is defying all efforts to resolve it. The Philippines Bureau of Customs estimates that 75,000 mostly empty 20-foot containers are waiting to be collected in the choked port.

The port of Rotterdam today announced a series of measures to eliminate congestion at two large container terminals and free up quay and labor capacity for oceangoing vessels.

The Panama Canal Authority and the consortium hired to build a third set of locks have amended their construction contract to reflect a March settlement of a payment dispute that interrupted work for two weeks.

Port Metro Vancouver’s penalty system for terminals is cutting truck turn times and drawing attention from other North American ports struggling with drayage challenges. And congestion seen earlier this year at Rotterdam has continued, prompting diversions and surcharges, and the congestion is spreading to other ports in the North Europe range.

Terminal operators are responding to the tsunami of large vessels that have descended upon global ports by dramatically ramping up their productivity in turning the mega-ships. But the gains realized are only a taste of what will be necessary when the next generation of vessels arrive on the scene by 2018, industry analysts say.

Hapag-Lloyd announced it is temporarily diverting vessels deployed on one of its Europe-Asia services from Rotterdam to Antwerp as congestion worsens at Europe’s biggest container port as the peak shipping season gathers speed.

China will remain the clear leader in U.S. footwear imports even as Vietnam and other countries nibble away at its market share, according to a new forecast by the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America.

Indian Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said the government is working on plans to augment overall tonnage capacity at major ports from the current 800 million tons to 1.6 billion tons over the next five years.

Facing growing port congestion, the Port of Hamburg is implementing a far-reaching plan to better manage truck traffic of containers moving in and out of its terminals.

Last winter, congestion at Port Metro Vancouver was so bad that it triggered a month-long strike by hundreds of truck drivers. Four months later, turn times are averaging less than an hour.

Worsening congestion at the port of Rotterdam has prompted two short sea and feeder shipping lines to impose surcharges of around $100 per container.

Malaysia’s Westports Holdings turned in an impressive first-half performance, with throughput rising 13 percent year-over-year and strong growth across all trade lanes.

The Port of Barcelona's container volume rose 7 percent year-over-year in the first half of 2014.