With its larger, consolidated terminals handling larger volumes from bigger ship calls, the Port of Oakland is considering officially expanding its gate hours for the first time, its head said today.

The heads of the two largest U.S. ports said it is time for President Obama to pressure the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association to end the contract impasse that is crippling West Coast ports and is threatening the nation’s economy.

Containers continued to pile up at U.S. West Coast ports over the Thanksgiving weekend as negotiators for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association met separately today to prepare for face-to-face negotiations on Tuesday.

Containerized import volume through the Port of Oakland jumped 9.17 percent in October as the port gained at the expense of the congested ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association will not have a contract settlement until December at the earliest because the ILWU is suspending negotiations on coastwide issues until Dec. 2, according to the employers’ organization.

The Port of Oakland is closed today following the death Wednesday night of a longshoreman in Benicia, a breakbulk and bulk port on the San Francisco Bay.

West Coast ports are preparing for a busy weekend, with dozens of vessels scheduled to arrive over the next three days.

Evergreen is dropping Los Angeles and Oakland port calls from a westbound U.S. East Coast to North Asia service due to berthing delays tied to the congestion at U.S. West Coast ports, the carrier said Friday.

Dockworkers at Los Angeles-Long Beach and Seattle-Tacoma picked up their productivity a bit this weekend, but the situation turned bad in Oakland when members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union walked off their jobs for three consecutive shifts.

Roads and highways connecting to the Port of Oakland are on track for upgrades after Alameda County voters this week approved a sales tax hike that will fund $7.8 billion worth of transportation infrastructure improvements.

Congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach could result in the realization of a long-time goal at the Port of Oakland: becoming the first U.S. West Coast call for inbound cargo from Asia.

Terminal congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach was clearly on the minds of JOC.com readers again this week, with six of the Top 10 stories focusing on the issue.

Hamburg Süd said it has taken steps to combat significant delays in vessel arrivals and departures at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as severe congestion at the largest port complex in the Americas has reached a new level of intensity.

Mike Zampa, a communications specialist for the past 25 years, including eight years in the maritime industry, was named director of communications at the Port of Oakland.

Terminal operators in Los Angeles-Long Beach should expect in the next few years to receive receive regular calls by vessels with capacities of 18,000 20-foot container units, while East Coast ports sooner than they expect may be served by the new Panamax vessels of up to 14,000-TEU capacity, according to a port planner.

A Zim Integrated Shipping Services vessel that was the target of anti-Israel protesters left the Port of Oakland late Saturday without being worked when longshoremen refused to report to their jobs, citing health and safety concerns.

The number of containers moving through major North American ports was up over 4 percent in the first half of 2014, port statistics show.