North American ports

Savannah attracted the new service due to its growing third-party logistics network and proximity to East Coast and Midwest markets, allowing for quicker and fresher imports.

Shippers more than tripled their formal complaints in fiscal year 2022, emboldened by the maritime regulator’s sharpened focus on how ocean carriers interact with their customers.

Emissions spiked at the ports during the pandemic due to record container volumes and unprecedented supply chain bottlenecks that caused ships to idle at anchorage and trucks to back up at terminal gates.

The decision to suspend a service outright may represent a new leg down in terms of ship capacity, which is expected to grow sharply this year and next.

Carrier executives and others say the draft limitations imposed due to a shortage of rainfall are creating a more difficult economic rationale for the so-called all-water route to the East Coast of North America.

The top four US ports, which accounted for 68.2% of US imports from Asia through August, experienced greater than 20% declines in Asian imports in the first eight months of 2023 whereas imports through Houston, the dominant port on the Gulf Coast, declined only 3.7%.

West Coast ports are bearing the brunt of a steep decline in US agriculture exports, as are carriers such as CMA CGM that pivoted to serving exporters amid weaker import demand.

Although importers can look forward to paying low freight rates at least into 2024 due to weak volumes and significant overcapacity in the trans-Pacific, aggressive capacity reductions through blank sailings will disrupt service levels, this week’s IANA conference was told.

The Indamex 2, the weekly loop touted as the fastest connection between western India and the US East Coast, is set to see a 50% capacity reduction for loads out of India this month.

The carrier aims to increase capacity by more than half at the Staten Island terminal it took over as part of its acquisition of Global Container Terminals’ US assets.

The carrier’s dual-fuel newbuildings will be the first in a series of vessels to be delivered over the next decade.

Investors aren’t lining up to sink money into aging facilities, given that warehouses built in the last 20 to 40 years require nearly 50% more energy consumption and double the maintenance costs than newbuilds.

The head of terminal operator SSA Marine says ports along the US Gulf and Southeast have a strong cost advantage over the West Coast that is fueling their growth, with that gap only expected to widen.

Although the ITS terminal in Long Beach lost two major services in less than a year, the facility will remain open while it attempts to find customers to make up for the volume shortfall in the ongoing down market.

While the importance of drayage came to the fore during the pandemic, the current freight hangover is cramping the sector’s ability to take advantage of technology options on the market.

The regional air quality board is pushing back against what it says is “grossly inaccurate rhetoric” from transport interests who say a cap on Southern California cargo volumes may be on the horizon.

The completion of the terminal acquisitions gives the carrier a stronger footprint in the US’s largest East Coast gateway.

Some 75% of union members participating in the vote agreed to ratify the tentative contract that was reached in mid-June, opening the door to labor peace at West Coast ports at least through mid-2028.

Given the short duration of the port and terminal closures, impacts appeared minimal as Jacksonville, Savannah and Charleston resumed normal operations.

Ports along the southeast coast of the US were experiencing various stages of disruption after a major hurricane made landfall on Florida’s west coast.

US retailers historically stock up for the spring season and top off inventories following winter holiday depletion and before the Chinese New Year, but forwarders and carriers admit there’s no guarantee this time around.

The ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert experienced a series of labor disruptions in July during longshore contract negotiations, while the Panama Canal implemented draft restrictions amid a severe drought.

The cranes are part of overall improvements to update and expand Blount Island operations and double its current capacity to 500,000 TEU by 2025.

The Harbor Trucking Association is teaming with Yusen Terminals in Los Angeles to increase the number of appointment slots each day by cutting the container receiving window from two hours to 90 minutes.

MSC, which has implemented large-scale network realignments in recent months, halted Indian calls on the Sentosa service in April when it opened a standalone intra-Asia loop.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said the new leases attempt to “strike a balance” to reflect current market realities, but other MTO sources called the practice of sharing demurrage uncommon.

In addition to the typical annual planning, such as for budgets and freight rates, US importers need to start weighing contingency plans for two potentially disruptive occurrences next year — continued low-water levels along the Panama Canal and the expiration of the International Longshoremen’s Association contract, writes Lars Jensen.

The fresh data also showed — starkly — how the West Coast’s share of imports from Asia eroded during the 13 months of contentious contract negotiations between the ILWU and waterfront employers.

The proposed rulemaking shows how far the pendulum of power has swung in favor of shippers seeking to hold carriers accountable for practices that occurred during the pandemic, but which were rarely experienced prior to that period, writes Peter Tirschwell.

Portchain has pulled in 76 container terminals into its vessel arrival coordination platform with carriers in the past 18 months, with Port Houston the latest to join.

Ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert are clearing out the backlog of containers that built up during the two weeks of dockworker strikes in July, with no significant vessel, rail or trucking delays to report, according to stakeholders.

The clash between shippers and container lines highlights a major challenge for the FMC in finalizing rulemaking on when a carrier can refuse to serve shippers, most notably the risk that it could create a rule that’s so commercially restrictive that it’s unconstitutional.

A sharp increase in new vessel deliveries over the coming weeks is forecast to put more pressure on ocean carriers to blank sailings — or face falling rates.

Spot rates in the eastbound trans-Pacific continue to move higher, although a planned general rate increase this week could be the last one for a while, as carriers are scheduled to add a significant amount of new capacity into the global fleet beginning later this year.

Stalled since May, the Ocean Shipping Reform Technical Act of 2023 may never be taken up by the House of Representatives as regulators are still struggling to implement last year’s original legislation.

The Panama Canal’s limits on vessel drafts and transits have yet to make big impact on container shipping, but at least one forwarder is warning shippers not to be complacent.

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.