North American ports

Sources say USMX has made the ILA an offer on par with the increases the ILWU secured in its latest contract. However, the ILA also wants stronger protections for work jurisdiction and automation.

A district attorney for the parish that would be home to the proposed new Louisiana International Terminal alleges the Port of New Orleans has no legal basis to operate there.

Negotiators for shipping lines and office workers in Los Angeles-Long Beach report that progress is being made in the ILWU Local 63 Office Clerical Unit (OCU) contract negotiations, but the two sides have work to do on the issues of wages, pension benefits and technology.

The latest lawsuit from International Longshoremen’s Association ups the damages the union is seeking from ocean carriers that used the Port of Charleston’s Hugh K. Leatherman terminal.

CIE Manufacturing, a major manufacturer of new chassis, has suspended all imports of chassis into the US in response to an investigation by US customs officials.

The disruption laid bare the limits the Trudeau government will exercise to push both sides to a deal that was ratified Friday by longshore union membership at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

While the magnitude of peak season in any given year may have macroeconomic significance in shedding light on the strength of consumer spending and the economy overall, it is only one factor driving the market conditions that affect the physical movement of goods, writes Peter Tirschwell.

The National Association of Waterfront Employees says terminal operators are potentially on the hook for “tens of billions of dollars” to upgrade their cargo handling equipment and allowing them to use tax-deferred funds would increase their purchasing power.

Half of the world’s top 50 container ports grew their volumes last year while the other half saw declines, highlighting the contrasting fortunes of the global gateways.

The value of Brazil’s exports to European and Mediterranean countries is rising faster than those to the US, while Europe is also increasingly taking a greater share of Brazilian exports in percentage terms, trade figures show.

Negotiators for ILWU Canada and waterfront employers reached a second tentative contract agreement late Sunday after the union’s membership rejected an initial deal that had been struck last week.

The membership of the International Longshore Warehouse Union Canada has rejected a four-year contract at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, which employers say would have included a 19.2%. compounded wage increase.

The latest decision upheld an initial ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that allowed the International Longshoremen’s Association to sue ocean carriers that called Charleston’s Leatherman terminal.

The FMC commissioner wants to implement uniform empty return dates and define “container availability” as when the container is available for pick up, among other proposals.

After three years of operating at full capacity, warehouses and distribution centers outside the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex are gaining space by shedding excess inventory, and a peak season that some say will be non-existent is not expected to disrupt that newfound fluidity.

Only local unions at the ports of New York and New Jersey and Baltimore have come to tentative terms on local issues, with the ILA’s chief negotiator saying employers in other ports “have not taken the talks seriously.”

Technology provider QuayChain will arm the Port of Oakland with milestone data in areas near its facilities to improve its visibility portal.

CN said it will take up to eight weeks to clear the cargo backlog at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert as the industry waits to see if ILWU Canada’s rank and file will accept terms of the tentative deal reached last week.

Maritime employers expect New Jersey State Police oversight of longshore hiring in the state will be easier and less burdensome than it was under the soon-to-be dissolved Waterfront Commission.

The president of the International Longshoremen’s Association says automation and new technology are an existential threat to union members and other maritime employees worldwide.

The Georgia Ports Authority has acknowledged the added berth capacity was sorely needed during the worst of the pandemic-driven port congestion when Savannah’s queue hit more than 30 ships in September 2021.

The rollercoaster developments of the past three weeks, which began with a 13-day strike by ILWU Canada on July 1, have disrupted cargo handling at Vancouver, Canada’s largest port and a gateway to US and Canadian markets.

GSC intends to combine its expertise in servicing containerized imports in the retail sector with MacMillan-Piper's experience in warehousing and transloading of primarily export commodities.

With a significantly shorter peak season expected this year, the ability of carriers to match capacity to demand will be tested over the next six months as they seek to keep spot rates from dipping below contract levels.

New and expanded auto imports landing at the Northwest Seaport Alliance come as carriers take advantage of its proximity to Asian ports during a time of scarce ro/ro tonnage.

Retailers and NVOs aren’t sure if spot rates will continue to increase steadily through the peak season or whether new capacity expected to enter the trans-Pacific in the coming months will cause rates to fall again.

The rejection of last week’s tentative contract deal by a caucus of ILWU Canada narrows the prospects of a resolution without one imposed by Parliament through back-to-work legislation.

Freight forwarder sources in India believe the success of a fourth round of general rate increases scheduled for Aug. 1 will hinge on the ability of carriers to hold firm on recent pricing gains.

Part of the new dynamic on the waterfront reflects wider transportation labor activism where rail, aviation, trucking and longshore workers have achieved or are seeking to achieve substantial enhancements in pay and work rules, writes Peter Tirschwell.

Brunswick’s growth comes amid rising automotive production, pent-up consumer demand and an easing of the semiconductor shortage that occurred during the pandemic.

Forwarders, shipping lines and trucking interests are advising their customers it will take weeks — possibly into September — for operations at Prince Rupert and Vancouver to return to normal.

A union of construction equipment operators in New Jersey alleges the International Longshoremen’s Association sought to take away marine terminal work it was hired to perform.

The end of the strike comes less than two days after Canada’s Minister of Labour ordered the federal mediator overseeing negotiations between the union and employers to provide recommendations for a settlement.

If ILWU Canada or longshore employers reject the recommendations of a federal mediator, the next step will be for the Canadian government to reconvene Parliament, which is on summer recess, to address the situation.

The doom and gloom regarding cargo diverted away from the US West Coast during recent labor strife may have been excessive, as importers are not eager to permanently adopt higher-cost routings when a reliable lower-cost option with reasonable service exists, writes analyst Larry Gross.

The International Longshoremen’s Association says it is willing to wait as long as it takes to control the jobs it believes belong to the union at South Carolina’s new Leatherman terminal.

With the strike by ILWU Canada now in its 11th day, some C$7.5 billion in Canadian imports and exports has been compromised thus far, the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association says.

Delaware’s Port of Wilmington received an improved offer from a stevedoring firm to take over operations, but the bid faces a challenge from Holt, who claims the search process was unfair.

The ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland will use the grant money for infrastructure projects that will promote more efficient freight movement as well as emissions-reduction efforts to meet clean-air goals.

ILWU Canada and employers are engaging with federal mediators as a backlog of vessels builds outside of Vancouver and Seattle-Tacoma as the Western Canadian dockworker strike enters its second week.