Port News

The capacity reinstatement is also a boon for Indian shippers facing intermittent void calls and longer transits as they try to maximize exports ahead of the current fiscal year closing on March 31.

Even as the industry seemingly adjusts to the new status quo of routing ships around southern Africa, there are significant — yet less apparent — changes afoot in container shipping, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

The prospects of trucking goods from the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia to the trade hub of Jeddah on the Rea Sea looks increasingly more favorable amid soaring ocean spot rates and few signs that southern Red Sea security will be restored soon.

The multipurpose sector is managing security risk, dodging pricey transit fees at the Panama Canal and finding new cargo sources as route diversions globally become routine.

APM Terminals will make more slots available for retrieving import containers at its Port Elizabeth site as truckers say delays in booking appointments are worsening.

The Port of Jacksonville said the first ship on the newly combined trans-Atlantic and north-south service from Mediterranean Shipping Co. called the port this month.

A faltering German economy, weak consumer demand and geopolitics are having a negative effect on Europe’s largest container gateways. 

Forwarders believe carriers are now a bit uncertain about their ability to secure enough cargo from shippers for spot bookings given that some exporters are known to have put their orders on hold because of high ocean rates and other challenges.

Both sides say cargo is leaving Montreal due to the inability to reach a new contract deal with the port’s main longshore union.

Under final guidelines for detention and demurrage billing, only the shipper or consignee can be on the hook for such charges and bills must be sent within 30 days.

The move has already prompted Busan, one of the ports most affected by the downgrade, to urge Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to rethink their Gemini vessel schedules and restore some calls at the South Korean gateway.

Large terminal operators and container lines have backed an effort to build a common digital platform, which this week lured three global port operators into its network.

There was unilateral opposition to the call made by the European Commission last May as part of its reform of customs procedures, and as expected, the measure never made it through the parliamentary review

Railroad officials informed Georgia and South Carolina port authorities earlier this week, giving them a one-month notice that service will no longer be offered to Chicago, Cincinnati and Louisville.

Carriers are dealing with a significant backlog of cargo that has built up because of longer transit times, cutting down available space for exports and raising rate levels.

Along with new funding for the domestic manufacturing of container cranes, the Biden Administration has given the US Coast Guard more power to monitor cyberattacks on port and maritime infrastructure.

The change in policy for so-called earliest receiving dates was due to go into effect March 1, but exporters asked the Georgia Ports Authority for more time to adjust their warehouse operations.

The fourth consecutive month of year-over-year growth in US imports from Asia might be a sign the world’s busiest trade lane has turned the corner after a lackluster 2023 in which imports declined about 13%.

The decision to not hear the appeal leaves intact a ruling that allows the International Longshoremen’s Association to sue ocean carriers that use the Leatherman terminal, an apparent blow to the so-called “hybrid” labor model used in Charleston.

The operator of Oakland’s largest container terminal said it will take about two weeks to clear the vessel backlog at Oakland International Container Terminal.

The new partnership with Wan Hai comes as ONE — along with Yang Ming and HMM — faces the loss of THE Alliance partner Hapag-Lloyd, which is leaving the vessel-sharing agreement for a new partnership with Maersk.

The first shipments of hay were loaded into Evergreen containers at the inland hub and moved by Union Pacific to the Pierce County Terminal in Tacoma for shipment to China.

The long-awaited decision also seemingly puts to rest the question as to whether the FMC has authority on issues that extend beyond US ports.

Stephen Hennessey joined PMA in 2004 after holding management positions in the shipping and trucking industries, including with Sea-Land Service, Roadway Express and Horizon Lines.

The shipping industry still deems southbound voyages through the Suez Canal as far as Jeddah Islamic Port in Saudi Arabia as beyond the reach of the militant attacks that have forced the majority of large container ship traffic to divert around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa.

Whenever container shipping experiences an upheaval in the alliance structure, the wind-down period from announcement to departure and then to the reforming of new alliances can be bumpy, writes industry veteran Patrick Burgoyne.

Given the capacity pressures, a potential higher incidence of gated cargo being left behind or rolled over in March could spark serious trade concerns, Indian sources say.

The carrier is looking to take part in the trade growth the US Gulf is enjoying with South America’s largest economies that consume heavy quantities of US petrochemicals.

The Global Port Tracker calls for a year-over-year gain of 5.3% in US imports over the first six months of the year despite the uncertain security situation in the Red Sea.

The International Longshoremen’s Association’s May 17 deadline will provide an almost five-month window for the union to wrap up talks on a master contract covering the East and Gulf coasts.

The Port of Mobile is looking to boost intrastate rail service with a new intermodal ramp that would give shippers an alternative to using rail from major Southeast ports.

The Port of Virginia has handled very few food products coming from or moving to South America, but the new services could bring Norfolk closer to its competitors on the East Coast.

A price correction was not entirely unexpected, but carrier sources believe that rates could move up again next month due to the fiscal year-end shipping rush.

Though talks have seemingly been on hold, Maher Terminals’ Gary Cross said he has “no doubt” the longshore union and port employers along the East and Gulf coasts will reach a new agreement before the existing deal expires.

Project volumes will include steel and modules related to the development of the second phase of the $21 billion Venture Global liquefied natural gas export facility under construction in Plaquemines Parish, downriver from New Orleans.

While the union said industrial action has ended, the disruption caused by work stoppages that lasted hours and days at a time will take weeks to wind down.

The flow of roll-on/roll-off cargo shows little sign of slowing as carriers ink long-term deals with automotive and high and heavy manufacturers.

The deal ends a more than decade-long case that involved claims that terminal operator ICTSI Oregon incurred damages when ILWU Local 8 engaged in unlawful work practices and slowdowns from 2012 to 2017 at Terminal 6 in Portland.

With existing capacity utilization at 70%, Los Angeles and Long Beach have probably delayed until the early 2030s the likelihood of experiencing pandemic-era congestion again, according to marine terminal engineers.

US retailers and others will reduce their exposure to China as they can, chasing cheaper labor while also hedging the risk associated with relying on one origin for key goods and items.