Port News

The latest labor-related port disruptions along the West Coast came as coastwide contract negotiations between the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association were scheduled to resume Wednesday.

Shippers diverting goods away from the West Coast typically like what they see: Ports up and down the East and Gulf coasts that have invested significantly to handle growth, are customer-focused, take fluidity seriously and have experienced virtually no labor disruption since the late 1970s.

The International Maritime Organization has an opportunity next month to set more aggressive goals to slash carbon emissions, which could send a powerful signal to stakeholders needing direction, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

US consumers are still spending, but at a slower rate, and that’s pushing major restocking of goods further toward the back half of 2023, analysts and retailers say.

The disruptions happening now are a repeat of events in April when ILWU locals up and down the coast slowed cargo handling to gain leverage on local issues, which prevented coastwide negotiators from addressing broader issues such as wages and pension benefits.

The ports of Boston and Halifax are getting additional trans-Atlantic coverage through a new rotation on Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s north-south service from Ecuador.

Perhaps Robin Silvester’s biggest accomplishment leading the port was shepherding the early stages of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project, which cleared a major environmental hurdle last month and will double Vancouver’s annual throughput capacity.

ILWU Canada rank-and-file will vote later this week on whether to issue a 72-hour strike notice, raising the unprecedented prospect of disruption on Canada’s West Coast amid job actions by labor along the US West Coast.

The White House said it was monitoring the fast-developing situation along the West Coast, while a major retail organization urged the Biden administration to intervene and warned about the ongoing diversion of cargo to the East and Gulf coasts.

Two stevedoring companies are looking to the Federal Maritime Commission to stop what they say is an unlawful access fee at the Port of Baltimore after one of them was invoiced $1.2 million.

The Container Port Performance Index for 2022 showed that among large ports, China’s Yangshan ranked No. 1, while Ningbo and Guangzhou were among the top 10.

With international rail volume down by double-digit percentages in 2023, chassis providers have an opportunity to reflect on the struggles of 2021 and 2022 and adjust their networks ahead of the next surge.

The ILWU Friday shut down some terminals at West Coast ports after coastwide contract negotiations broke down Thursday because the union and employers are reportedly far apart on wages.

The first chassis for a new equipment pool covering the ports of Jacksonville, Savannah, and Wilmington, NC, arrived this week, the first step ahead of an October launch.

Vineyard Wind is one of the first commercial-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the US and at completion will generate some 800 megawatts of power.

The railroad is reducing demurrage fees and restoring additional free time that was eliminated in the past two years as international intermodal volumes have fallen sharply from East Coast ports.

An emerging trend of sending smaller shipments more frequently is leading to growing demand for LCL services across the major trade lanes.

Union Pacific’s launch of direct intermodal service from Houston comes two weeks after competitor BNSF announced it would begin a new service from the port’s Barbours Cut marine terminal.

Shippers and port executives say the post-COVID shift of cargo back to Hong Kong is being hampered by the global slump in demand as developed countries grapple with elevated inventories and inflationary pressures.

Thanks to a recent GRI push, average contract rates for India to the US have seen modest gains in recent weeks and carriers are now looking to build around that limited success.

The port congestion in Asia and North America that compromised vessel on-time performance during the pandemic began to ease last fall with declining cargo volumes, and the reliability improvements have accelerated since.

The ruling could place an additional burden on US chassis manufacturers to ensure their subcontractors are using US materials or paying duties on parts from China.

End-to-end supply chain visibility remains an elusive goal for providers in a market where shippers are expecting better data quality than they have seen.

With spot freight rates largely stabilized, ocean carriers have blanked fewer sailings in May and instead opted for more biweekly sailings.

While indicators may point to a “normal” container shipping market in the wake of the pandemic, it is important to remember that disruptions large and small are all part of that normality, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

Shippers want Congress to address their inability to challenge rail demurrage fees when they contract for merchant haulage, but finding a solution will be tricky, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

Geodis has acquired Southern Companies, a South Florida-based container drayage provider, the latest in a series of trucking and warehousing acquisitions in the US over the last two months.

Relative to other US East Coast ports that saw high import volumes in 2022 due to diversions from West Coast ports, PhilaPort saw more modest inbound growth.

Price volatility, economic uncertainty and China’s ongoing efforts to keep adulterated scrap products out of the country held back US exports of recyclable materials for the third straight year in 2022.

A decrease in US housing construction from the fever pitch seen during the COVID-19 pandemic is reducing demand for imports of furniture, appliances and other household goods.

The carrier will pay the penalty to avoid the Federal Maritime Commission launching a formal investigation into whether it violated US detention and demurrage shipping laws.

With a proposed baseball stadium at the terminal location off the table, the Port of Oakland is considering options to expand maritime support activities at the 50-acre site to complement overall growth at the port.

Forwarders do not expect prices to stabilize or trend up any time soon, with carriers increasingly struggling to secure steady booking levels to fill their export allocations out of India despite capacity readjustments.

The bipartisan legislation does not identify specific countries that manufacture the cranes that would be subject to inspection, but a statement from the co-sponsors specifically mentions China.

Some paper products remained in high demand last year, but a decline in China’s real estate economy and a ban on a certain type of pine logs put additional downward pressure on forest products exports.

Challenging economic conditions, compounded by sanctions against one of its largest trading partners, led to a sharp drop in first-quarter volumes at Europe’s third-busiest container port.

With import volumes sharply lower than last year, trans-Pacific carriers are more willing to consider requests for fixed-rate pricing and inland transportation bookings in 2023-24 service contracts, sources say.

Global vehicle manufacturers are still recovering from widespread semiconductor shortages, while domestic automakers and body shops face ongoing delays in components ranging from rear suspensions to front bumpers.

The railroad will start a twice-weekly service to Dallas and once-weekly service to Denver, but no ocean carrier as yet is offering inland moves from Houston.

US exports of plastic resins rebounded in 2022 after an uncharacteristic decline in 2021, but increased production in China and an uncertain global economy could dampen demand this year.