The latest strike action and low expectations among employers that the federal government will intervene suggests Canada’s second-largest port faces a protracted disruption.
Sunday August 9, 2020
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International Ports
International Ports
Latest news, data and analysis about how the world’s major ports are dealing with the complex challenges that result from having to handle larger and larger ships, while nevertheless maintaining or improving their productivity.
Coverage analyzes how the world’s major container ports are dealing with the impact of a host of new technologies. The largest container ports in Asia include Shanghai, Singapore, Shenzhen, Ningbo-Zhoushan Hong Kong, Qingdao, Gwangzhou, Tianjin, Busan, and Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The largest container ports in Europe include Antwerp (Belgium), Bremen/Bremerhaven (Germany), Felixstowe (UK), Gioia Tauro (Italy), Gdansk (Poland), Gothenburg (Sweden), Hamburg (Germany), Novorossiysk (Russia), Primorsk (Russia), Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Saint Petersburg (Russia).
The lessons learned by the world’s leading ports are explained with clarity and a minimal amount of industry jargon. Coverage and analysis of the impact of these developments on the shippers who use these ports, and on global supply chains that impact a broader range of stakeholders in the global manufacturing, retail, and other key sectors.
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Aug 20, 2020 2:00PM EDT
Aug 31, 2020 2:00PM EDT
News & Analysis
06 Aug 2020
A port like Montreal, for whom up to half of its cargo is so-called “discretionary” -- where the shipper has a choice of ports -- is especially vulnerable to labor unrest, especially if it is protracted or repeated such that it acquires a reputation for lack of reliability.
04 Aug 2020
One marine terminal in Montreal has begun turning away refrigerated exports as a series of strikes will last until at least Friday.
03 Aug 2020
The latest strike notice adds to the shipping industry’s fears that the disruption will have lasting damage on Montreal's attractiveness as a gateway for so-called discretionary cargo.
31 Jul 2020
Container carrier ONE said an increase in COVID-19 infections in South Africa has also disrupted port operations in Durban, causing vessel delays to ships operating on its South Africa Central service.
31 Jul 2020
Observers say the port strike, if it drags on, could create lasting damage to the Port of Montreal, which handles a significant volume of discretionary cargo able to move through other ports.
30 Jul 2020
Cargo handlers using India’s minor ports enjoy significant competitive advantages over major landlord ports, including unregulated tariffs, fewer government controls, and relatively modern infrastructure.
29 Jul 2020
The latest strike action raises concerns that port clerk and longshore will launch consecutive strikes at Montreal, the second-largest East Coast port.
27 Jul 2020
The second strike action in less than two months at the second-largest Canadian container port bodes poorly for longshore workers and employers agreeing to a new contract soon.
22 Jul 2020
Pacific Northwest ports in the US and Canada are focusing on terminal expansion projects to prepare for what they hope will be a return to growth after the COVID-19 crisis subsides.
08 Jul 2020
Easing the height limit under Hong Kong’s Tsing Ma bridge ends a six-year campaign by the Hong Kong Liner Shipping Association. The structure spans the main shipping channel between Hong Kong’s Kwai Chung container port and the Shekou and Chiwan container terminals in western Shenzhen.
02 Jul 2020
Montreal waterfront employers a decade ago locked out longshore workers for several days, after the union authorized a strike following an 18-month impasse in contract talks.
30 Jun 2020
Montreal employers say the longshoremen’s decision was a surprise and said they are considering other options than focusing on contract negotiations. Employers locked out workers in 2010 after contract talks hit an impasse.
17 Jun 2020
Dismissing writs filed by BCO groups, an appeals court in New Delhi ruled that government advisories on extended free time and penalty waivers were more in the form of general advice rather than a binding directive.
15 Jun 2020
The ability to strike could give the longshoremen union Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 375 more leverage in its negotiations with employers for a future contract.
11 May 2020
The COVID-19 lockdown in Bangladesh has shippers contending with congestion fees, while carriers push back against a government request to drop detention charges.
08 May 2020
European ports have been hit harder by blank sailings than other regions, according to a survey by the World Ports Sustainability Program and the International Association of Ports and Harbors.
04 May 2020
The years-long market share bleed from North America’s traditional West Coast container gateways continued in 2019, with Savannah, Houston and Prince Rupert the main beneficiaries.
23 Apr 2020
Bangladesh’s Shipping Ministry pushed customs authorities to relax rules governing what type of cargo could be moved to private off-dock space amid growing pressure to relieve congestion at Chittagong.
21 Apr 2020
The trade group that represents foreign carriers in India says the latest inventory numbers at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust suggest a supply chain bottleneck of alarming proportions is beginning to take shape.
13 Apr 2020
Under Indian government directives, terminal stakeholders have stepped up gate activity in recent days in order to avert widespread congestion developing.
07 Apr 2020
Bangladesh will waive Chittagong port fees as yard storage approaches 92 percent capacity, but carriers are putting shippers on the hook for reefer-related charges.
02 Apr 2020
The Chittagong customs office is open just two hours a day during the lockdown period and is only releasing cargoes carrying food and medicines, meaning containers carrying non-essential goods are backing up in storage.
01 Apr 2020
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority and its largest tenant, GCT Canada, agree that Vancouver risks a scenario in which marine terminals will be clogged within roughly 10 years, but they disagree on how to add capacity.
01 Apr 2020
A steep drop in cargo through Mexico’s ports in March is just one of several factors roiling the country’s logistics sector, which may see low freight volumes for months, executives say.
30 Mar 2020
JNPT’s own terminal has suspended ground rent charges until March 31, while PSA’s Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals (BMCT) is offering an additional three free days.
25 Mar 2020
ICDs in January raised container handling charges, but shippers and container lines balked at the increase, which eventually led to the service halt.
20 Mar 2020
A preliminary assessment by the Port of Montreal predicts cargo volumes could fall as much as 13 percent in 2020, in a sign of how the Chinese slowdown continues to disrupt supply chains even as ports prepare for a drop in cargo due to Europe’s economic slump.
19 Mar 2020
A reprimand from Indian officials comes after the Container Shipping Lines Association urged local appeals courts to challenge a customs ruling permitting shippers to pay terminal handling charges directly to terminal operators.
19 Mar 2020
Shipping and logistics executives said Tokyo is seeing healthy freight volumes partly due to a cargo rush ahead of the end of Japan’s fiscal year and a rise in shipments ahead of the Tokyo Olympics that are due to start July 24.
09 Mar 2020
While Mexico’s Pacific Coast ports have so far seen little decline in cargo volumes due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), some logistics providers expect volumes to fall beginning this month.
09 Mar 2020
Container volume growth on trades connecting the United States with South America decelerated last year, reflecting slowing economic growth in the bellwether countries of Brazil and Argentina, according to JOC's 2019 top US–South America port and carrier rankings.
06 Mar 2020
By laying the groundwork for increased competition between Kansas City Southern of Mexico (KCSM), which has no direct rail access to Veracruz at present, and Ferrosur, which does, the new two-rail link is positioned to drive not only service improvements, but volume growth.
05 Mar 2020
The $300 million project allows GCT Deltaport to build longer trains faster and with less human accident risk, and boosts the Vancouver terminal’s annual capacity from 1.8 million TEU to 2.4 million.
04 Mar 2020
Indian shipping sources expect import volumes to fall by double-digits in April due to the coronavirus, and the sector is scrambling to deal with the growing problems of equipment shortages and container dislocation.
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Commentary
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