Port News

Sources with knowledge of the Port of Oakland’s operations called Monday’s action by the ILWU an obvious attempt to exert pressure on stalled contract negotiations with the Pacific Maritime Association.

Under the modified cabotage mechanism, foreign-flag carriers working the India trade face minimal regulations over the movement of export and import containers meant for transshipment.

Last week’s work action stirred up bad memories of negotiations in 2014–15, when locally initiated job actions over several months severely disrupted ports up and down the West Coast, resulting in huge losses for exporters.

Canada is reconsidering how its port system operates in the wake of disruption tied to the pandemic and amid inland hub congestion putting upstream pressure on its Pacific Coast ports.

The announced wage deal at Liverpool is welcome news after a series of strikes over the past three months severely disrupted container operations at the UK’s key west coast hub.

US transportation companies with cash on hand are acquiring asset-based truckers and non-asset freight brokers alike to add services and shipper customers and build network density.

Evergreen Marine has purchased the equity shares held by subsidiaries in its transshipment hub in Panama that serves both Asia and South America services into the US East Coast.

A work stoppage in Oakland only served to further stoke the fears of US cargo interests who have been routing discretionary cargo away from West Coast ports to avoid disruptions linked to ongoing longshore labor talks.

The Gulf Coast ports of Houston and Mobile are the fastest and third-fastest growing gateways for US imports of Asian goods as shippers look to diversify away from the West Coast, regardless of the outcome of longshore labor talks.

The Port of New York and New Jersey and two of its marine terminals are funding further planning on a track project that would mean fewer delays out of the port.

The US Department of Transportation will provide record funding for 41 port projects, including infrastructure upgrades and emissions improvements.

The move to impose fees on long-dwelling containers comes as the import backlog at Port Houston has created truck queues outside its terminals and increased turn times for drivers.

The longer it takes for the ILWU and West Coast longshore employers to agree on a new contract, the threat of disruption grows and more cargo will be diverted elsewhere – some of it permanently.

Canadian freight forwarders and their shipper-clients are calling on federal transportation agencies to address supply chain bottlenecks they say have resulted in delays and mounting detention and demurrage costs.

Cosco’s acquisition of the stake in the Hamburg terminal was subject to approval by the German government, but significant resistance due to political sensitivities prolonged the process.

Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s terminal arm is working with a developer to build a container facility at the Sparrows Point industrial park near the Port of Baltimore.

The inability to get past the jurisdictional issue in Seattle has now led some observers to conclude that contract negotiations between the ILWU and longshore employers on the West Coast are unlikely to be resolved this year.

The increasingly bitter dispute between the union and Liverpool’s terminal operator is over pay increases labor is seeking to compensate workers for the UK’s runaway inflation rate.

South Florida Container Terminal will be handling more volumes after the start of a new trans-Atlantic service from the Mediterranean, with the CMA CGM Navegantes making its first call to Miami this week.

Europe’s two largest container port hubs have reported declining throughput in the first nine months of the year as a series of factors stacks up to put the brakes on demand.

Carriers will continue to skip calls at South African ports next week even with the end of the strike, which has caused widespread disruption to terminal operations with cargo backlogs and omitted calls on key services.

Reduced backlogs in Southern California due primarily to the diversion of cargo to the East and Gulf coasts have shifted the congestion problems to ports in those regions.

Among the Indian port projects in motion is a new deepwater greenfield harbor along the Bay of Bengal that the Adani Group hopes can serve as a growth catalyst for the relatively underrated trade region.

The deepening of Charleston’s harbor will enable the port to handle larger vessels that are carrying growing volumes of imports from Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent to the US East Coast.

The Transnet-UNTU agreement will put pressure on South Africa’s second-largest dockworker union to agree to a deal after it rejected a proposal over the weekend.

Europe’s container imports from Asia have weakened, but hubs in the region are battling ongoing port congestion that is set to last into next year.

Breakbulk tonnage has risen at Port Houston’s City Docks facility after the global oil price shock linked to the Russia–Ukraine war prompted an increase in active oil rigs in Texas.

While retailers normally divert some discretionary cargo to ports on the East and Gulf coasts in years when the ILWU and PMA negotiate a new contract, the shift away from the West Coast has been particularly dramatic this year.

The anticipated Q4 slowdown in Savannah and Charleston follows a busy summer for the two ports, with combined laden imports rising 9 percent year over year in the third quarter.

As vessel congestion in California eases, the state is looking to further invest in infrastructure projects that will modernize ports and keep goods moving throughout the state.

South Africa’s state-owned terminal operator said Thursday it has offered striking dockworkers a wage package that includes a 15.1 percent pay increase over three years.

Software vendor Portchain will help a DP World-operated terminal in the Port of Antwerp to automate communication from shipping lines to better coordinate berth plans, the companies said Wednesday.

Port operations in Liverpool continue to be heavily disrupted by escalating strike action, with no signs either party is willing to compromise in an increasingly bitter pay dispute.

Major container lines serving Indian trades, including MSC and Maersk, have advised exporters they will begin charging a new freight tax that went into effect Oct. 1.

Port of Wilmington operator GT USA saw a major shake-up of its board as insider directors were ousted amid rising operating costs and loss of a major lawsuit.

Container throughput at Liverpool has fallen, and with the decline in volume expected to continue through the year the port is planning to cut its headcount.

The Port of Houston is weighing whether to hit shippers with an additional fee if they let their import containers dwell for excessively long periods as terminal space remains tight.

New detention and demurrage legislation in California will protect cargo interests, truckers, and freight intermediaries from some charges they say are unjust.

The Port of New York and New Jersey is close to releasing a revamped tariff that recalculates how it will levy a $100-per-container fee on ocean carriers who let empty boxes linger.

Two retired US Navy admirals are recommending that the national security impact of the Port of Oakland’s Howard Terminal ballpark project be considered more seriously.