Ports

News and analysis of ports, terminals, dredging, expansion, hinterland connectivity, labor, disruption, congestion, cargo flow

The latest Ports News & Analysis

India-US contract rates tick up after July GRI activity

Bency Mathew, Special Correspondent | Jul 20, 2023, 10:35 AM EDT

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.
Container shippingContainer linesNorth American portsInternational ports

Rotterdam posts sharp drop in H1 volume, provides muted full-year outlook

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Jul 20, 2023, 10:14 AM EDT

A weak global economy and limited demand in Europe has set the continent’s largest port on course for a second year of declining volume.
Marine terminalsInternational ports

Longshore labor unrest a new daily fact of life for North American shippers

Peter Tirschwell | Jul 19, 2023, 3:42 PM EDT

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.
Longshore laborContainer linesMarine terminalsNorth American ports

Antwerp-Bruges H1 volumes slide on weak demand, poor industrial outlook

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent | Jul 18, 2023, 1:32 PM EDT

The fall hid some upbeat trends, with the number of refrigerated containers rising more than 10% in the first half and the rate of decline in overall volumes easing in the second quarter.
International portsContainer shippingContainer linesAsia-EuropeBreakbulk shippingRo/ro cargo

GPA’s Brunswick seeing significant growth in auto imports

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor | Jul 17, 2023, 4:23 PM EDT

Brunswick’s growth comes amid rising automotive production, pent-up consumer demand and an easing of the semiconductor shortage that occurred during the pandemic.
Ro/ro cargoPortsNorth American portsPort infrastructure

Post-strike recovery for western Canadian ports measured in weeks, not days: sources

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor | Jul 14, 2023, 4:29 PM EDT

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.
MaritimePortsLongshore laborNorth American ports

New Jersey union claims ILA blocked it from terminal construction project

Michael Angell, Associate Editor | Jul 14, 2023, 9:25 AM EDT

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.
Longshore laborNorth American ports

Western Canada port strike ends after deal reached on tentative four-year contract

JOC Staff | Jul 13, 2023, 5:15 PM EDT

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.
Longshore laborNorth American ports

Fewer empty imports reconfigure Indian containerized trade patterns

Bency Mathew, Special Correspondent | Jul 13, 2023, 9:53 AM EDT

The new trade pattern reflects in large part a sharp drop in empty equipment imports amid weakening demand conditions, rather than sustained export trade, industry observers say.
Container shippingContainer linesInternational ports

Canada’s Minister of Labour intervenes in bid to end dockworker strike

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor | Jul 12, 2023, 5:30 PM EDT

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.
MaritimePortsLongshore laborNorth American ports

Cargo recovery along USWC began prior to tentative labor deal: analyst

Larry Gross, president and founder, Gross Transportation Consulting; and JOC analyst | Jul 12, 2023, 2:05 PM EDT

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.
North American portsContainer shippingContainer linesTrans-Pacific

ILA Charleston protest aims to up ante on expanded work jurisdiction

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor | Jul 12, 2023, 11:59 AM EDT

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.
Longshore laborMaritimePortsNorth American ports

Western Canada dockworker strike disrupting billions in trade: employers

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor | Jul 11, 2023, 3:49 PM EDT

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.
MaritimePortsLongshore laborNorth American ports

Holt Logistics, HMM step into bidding fray for new operator of Wilmington’s port

Michael Angell, Associate Editor | Jul 11, 2023, 2:27 PM EDT

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.
North American portsContainer shipping

California’s major container ports get $735 million in state funds for upgrades

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor | Jul 11, 2023, 11:51 AM EDT

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.
MaritimePortsMarine terminalsNorth American ports

Trans-Pacific carriers altering port rotations to avoid strike-hit Vancouver

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor | Jul 10, 2023, 4:08 PM EDT

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.
MaritimePortsLongshore laborNorth American ports

Volume boost, construction snarls Jacksonville’s Blount Island drayage traffic

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor, and Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor | Jul 10, 2023, 4:04 PM EDT

The problems flared in recent weeks after Ocean Network Express shifted a vessel service out of Jacksonville’s other primary container terminal, Dames Point, causing a volume imbalance between the two terminals.
North American portsContainer linesPortsPort infrastructureSurfaceTrucking

Prior NY-NJ empty container woes linked to FMC complaint against Hapag-Lloyd

Michael Angell, Associate Editor | Jul 7, 2023, 2:43 PM EDT

 The carrier is the target of another shipper complaint regarding demurrage and detention fees, this time the indirect result of empty container congestion at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
Transport, trade and regulationContainer shippingNorth American ports

US imports building toward August peak, but labor concerns weigh: retailers

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor | Jul 7, 2023, 1:44 PM EDT

The Global Port Tracker says prospects for a recession in the second half of the year are dimming and imports should increase as consumer demand ticks up and retailers reduce the inventory overhang that has kept warehouses full over the past year.
MaritimeContainer shippingContainer linesTrans-PacificNorth American ports

US House bills keep shipping reform effort alive even after freight rate plunge

Peter Tirschwell | Jul 7, 2023, 11:06 AM EDT

Although there remain multiple obstacles to further legislation being signed into law, bipartisan support that shipping reform attracted in 2021 and 2022 has led to a situation in which certain additional provisions stand at least a 50-50 chance of being enacted this year, writes Peter Tirschwell.
Container shippingContainer linesMarine terminalsNorth American portsTransport, trade and regulation

Singapore port body joins cross-industry decarbonization alliance

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Jul 7, 2023, 9:33 AM EDT

Deeper public-private sector collaboration between global maritime industry players and the MPA will unlock key investments across the Indian and Pacific oceans, Lloyd’s Register believes.
PortsContainer shippingInternational ports

Impact of BC port strike could deepen without Ottawa's intervention

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor | Jul 6, 2023, 4:54 PM EDT

The strike by ILWU Canada, which entered its sixth day Thursday, is expected to have an increasing impact on Canada’s trans-Pacific trades if it drags into next week and beyond.
MaritimePortsLongshore laborNorth American ports

Japan’s Nagoya port resumes cargo handling operations after ransomware attack

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent | Jul 6, 2023, 1:27 PM EDT

Ocean Network Express said container operations on three vessels were affected by the disruption, but that loading and unloading had now been completed.
Container shippingContainer linesInternational ports

Duisburg terminal stake extends PSA reach into Europe

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Jul 5, 2023, 12:26 PM EDT

The global port operator is bolstering its multimodal supply chain capabilities with an investment that increases its already significant presence in the region.
PortsInternational ports

Vancouver, Prince Rupert face protracted port strike as talks stalemate

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor | Jul 4, 2023, 5:23 PM EDT

Canadian business groups are pleading for Parliament to return to Ottawa and pass back-to-work legislation to end the ILWU Canada strike, but it will likely take days for the upper and lower houses to pass such legislation, if they heed the call.
Longshore labor

USDOT awards $40M to boost port emissions reduction, surface projects

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor | Jul 3, 2023, 10:00 AM EDT

The US Department of Transportation is funding infrastructure projects that include carbon neutralization plans, updating miles of century-old rail and improving port access roads.
PortsNorth American portsPort infrastructureSupply Chain

Shipping industry braced for extended strike at BC ports

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor | Jul 2, 2023, 1:57 PM EDT

The pressure is on the Trudeau government to use its political capital to force a deal between employers and longshore workers at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert after the latter began a strike Saturday.
Longshore laborMaritimeContainer shippingContainer linesTrans-PacificNorth American portsTransport, trade and regulation

Vessel schedule reliability to US West Coast hits two-year high: Sea-Intelligence

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor | Jun 29, 2023, 4:24 PM EDT

Vessel on-time performance in the eastbound trans-Pacific is improving at West Coast ports, but slipping somewhat along the East Coast.
MaritimeContainer shippingContainer linesTrans-PacificNorth American ports

Trudeau’s resolve in spotlight with Western Canadian ports on brink of strike

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor | Jun 29, 2023, 3:25 PM EDT

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is generally viewed within the Canadian shipping industry as having acted too slowly — and weakly — when containerized supply chains were significantly disrupted over the last three years, notes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
Longshore laborTrans-PacificNorth American portsRail

European hub ports invest in terminal automation, digitization

Greg Knowler, Senior Editor Europe | Jun 29, 2023, 8:00 AM EDT

Despite the subdued market environment, the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp-Bruges expect rising volumes to place significant demand on capacity and vessel traffic management, prompting investment in both areas.
PortsContainer shippingInternational ports

ILWU Canada plans to strike British Columbia ports on Saturday

Michael Angell, Associate Editor | Jun 28, 2023, 5:02 PM EDT

The union filed a 72-hour strike notice, which includes the Port of Vancouver, claiming maritime employers have refused to negotiate on the main issues of compensation and automation.
Longshore laborContainer shippingNorth American ports

US DOT opens $5.6 billion in funding for projects to strengthen supply chains

Teri Errico Griffis, Associate Editor | Jun 28, 2023, 10:57 AM EDT

The funds will come from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, with three separate grant opportunities soliciting applications under a single program called the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant program.
Port infrastructurePortsNorth American portsTransport, trade and regulation

Small, mid-sized US shippers find falling trans-Pac spot rates hard to ignore

Bill Mongelluzzo, Senior Editor | Jun 27, 2023, 9:26 AM EDT

With most new trans-Pacific service contracts in effect only since late May, container lines are already nudging shippers to meet their minimum quantity commitments instead of taking advantage of spot rates that have been cratering for approximately three weeks, sources say.
Trans-PacificContainer shippingContainer linesForwardingNorth American ports

Senators look to rein in longshore work actions with change to US labor laws

Michael Angell, Associate Editor | Jun 26, 2023, 4:33 PM EDT

The legislation comes less than two weeks after West Coast waterfront employers and the ILWU struck a tentative deal for a new labor contract after 13 months of contentious talks that saw the union slow down port operations on numerous occasions.
Longshore laborNorth American ports

Congressman adds ban of China shipping data platform to Defense budget

Eric Johnson, Senior Technology Editor | Jun 26, 2023, 11:29 AM EDT

Scrutiny of China’s access to US maritime data is rising, with a US congressman targeting China’s state-sponsored shipping platform in a Defense Department budget amendment.
Transport, trade and regulationContainer shippingPortsNorth American ports

SSA Marine looks to expand into new US ports with deal for Ceres

Michael Angell, Associate Editor | Jun 23, 2023, 3:16 PM EDT

Carrix, the parent company of terminal operator SSA Marine, said it has agreed to buy Ceres Terminals for its exposure to container business going to the US East and Gulf coasts.
North American portsContainer shipping

C&K Trucking expands to Columbus and Kansas City, with more to come

Ari Ashe, Senior Editor | Jun 23, 2023, 1:46 PM EDT

The major eastern US drayage provider is looking to expand its footprint to California and the Pacific Northwest before the end of the year, markets where its major competitors already operate.
Drayage

Demand pressure keeps India-US contract rates sliding despite GRI efforts

Bency Mathew, Special Correspondent | Jun 23, 2023, 12:04 PM EDT

After two attempts to push through GRIs largely failed, forwarder sources in India believe it will be difficult for carriers to achieve success under current tight booking conditions, but liners have nonetheless lined up further rate hikes.
Container shippingContainer linesNorth American portsInternational ports

Lackluster north-south demand, rates to rebound in Q3: forwarders

Keith Wallis, Special Correspondent | Jun 22, 2023, 9:00 AM EDT

A combination of softer volumes and increased vessel capacity continues to drag on spot rates between Latin America and the US, but forwarders say they expect demand to begin to recover in September.
Container shippingContainer linesNorth American portsInternational ports

Falling Asia container rates may be too much of a good thing for US exporters

Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor | Jun 21, 2023, 11:09 AM EDT

There’s growing concern among some US exporters that outbound container spot rates are too low, recalling memories of when unprofitable cargo was left on the docks and service levels fell in parallel with the bottom lines of ocean carriers, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.
Trans-PacificContainer linesNorth American ports