Overcapacity continues to weigh on container shipping in 2016. Too much space and not enough cargo is the problem. The most visible impact is at sea where ocean freight rates remain under pressure. But ports are feeling pressure, too.
Shippers with discretionary cargo can choose from a bounty of North American gateways: Canada, Mexico, West Coast, East Coast, Gulf Coast, Panama Canal, Suez Canal. So how do we compete in this crowded landscape? The answer once was simple: cost. Now it’s not that easy. Cost matters, but what cargo owners really want is efficiency.
At many North American gateways it takes too long to get cargo in and out of port. That’s because bigger ships and vessel alliances are discharging greater cargo volumes in shorter timeframes. As a result, importers and exporters want change. They want fluid container yards, faster turn times and cargo delivered without delay.
Ports concerned with protecting their market share are responding, looking at everything from trucker appointment systems to offsite depots. The objective is beat the bottlenecks, get the cargo flowing. This is a priority at the Port of Oakland.
We spent the last half of 2015 developing efficiency improvements. Some efforts, such as adding longshore labor, are already having an effect. We expect to implement others within three months. They include:
- Saturday gates for truck transactions.
- A common chassis pool.
- Use of Bluetooth technology to measure and display up-to-the-minute turn times.
Other than the groundbreaking use of Bluetooth, these aren’t revolutionary ideas. But they reflect a commitment to improved productivity that can translate to better customer service. That’s what it will take to succeed in the competitive world of container shipping this year.
Chris Lytle, Executive Director, Port of Oakland