Drayage

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association met for three days this past week without concluding negotiations; at the weekend, the parties announced a week-long recess in the talks. German carrier Hamburg Süd announced plans to acquire the container operations of Chile’s CCNI, in a move resembling the deal between larger competitor Hapag-Lloyd and Chile’s CSAV, and Crowley is reported to be in talks to acquire Horizon Lines’ Puerto Rico assets. Earnings reports by U.S. truckload carriers are pointing to a stronger freight recovery in the United States, though rail service continues to be held back. And on Friday, Anne S. Ferro announced her departure from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration after five years leading the agency.

The union representing about 400 harbor truck drivers at Port Metro Vancouver has given Canadian officials until July 30 to enforce government-mandated pay rates for drivers, or face another possible trucker strike at Canada’s largest port.

When ports are hit with severe winter weather, chassis shortages, intermodal rail delays or an unexpected spike in container volume, life can be difficult for harbor truckers. When all of those factors converge at the same time, as they did this year, life is downright miserable in the drayage industry.

The busiest container gateways on the U.S. East and West coasts are trying to bring order to the chaos of intermodal chassis. It won’t be quick or easy.

TRAC Intermodal has launched a program to add or refurbish several thousand chassis in its Metropool, the largest chassis pool in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association surprised watchers by announcing a 72-hour hiatus in their negotiations so that the union could deal with unrelated talks in the Pacific Northwest, and by extending the expired coastwide contract during the suspension of negotiations.

Events this past week demonstrate that the Teamsters union remains dead serious about organizing harbor truck drivers, but also highlight the uphill battle the union faces.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex is struggling with marine terminal congestion and long trucker turn-times caused by a number of factors including chassis shortages, delays on the intermodal rail network, poor communication between terminals and truckers and a surge in cargo volume that caught the entire supply chain by surprise.

The Teamsters union today promised to turn up the heat on trucking companies and marine terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach harbor, although their efforts did not affect cargo-handling and gate operations in the nation’s largest port complex.

Two organizations representing New York-New Jersey port drayage companies are complaining that truckers’ concerns got short shrift in an industry-side task force’s recommendations of ways to make the port run more smoothly.

In the article titled “Teamsters initiate labor action at LA-Long Beach in midst of longshore talks,” published on July 6, a quote drawn from a tweet was misattributed to a longshoremen.

Cargo-handling and gate operations in Los Angeles-Long Beach were back to normal this afternoon after a waterfront arbitrator ordered longshoremen not to honor picket lines established by striking truck drivers.

International Longshore and Warehouse Union longshoremen in Southern California walked off their jobs about 9 a.m. at Evergreen and APL terminals in the Port of Los Angeles today.

Cargo-handling and gate operations at marine terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach continued without interruption today despite threats by the Teamsters union to initiate an “indefinite strike” against three trucking companies that serve the United States’ largest port complex.

Roughly 400 unionized truck drivers at Port Metro Vancouver are threatening to strike, alleging that they are being paid less than the minimum rate established by the government, CBC.ca reports.

A threat by the Teamsters union to launch a strike at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach got off to a slow start today as truck drivers were passing out informational flyers in the harbor, but were not setting up picket lines.

For five years now, cargo interests and truckers have been adjusting to a new environment in which shipping lines no longer provide chassis, yet the transition period still has a few years to go before the trade adopts a new model or models, according to an industry expert.

With no contract in place and a tradition of bucking its leadership to make a point, Southern California members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union may choose to honor Teamsters’ pickets on July 7 despite a pledge by its leadership in San Francisco that “cargo will keep moving” on the U.S. West Coast.

Organizers backed by the Teamsters Union reportedly plan on July 7 to picket terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach and target the trucks of three drayage companies they have been trying to unionize.

Indian Customs has put in place at Chennai Port new regulations that authorities believe will help tackle truck congestion in the harbor and on roadways connecting the cargo terminals.

Old Dominion Freight Line has opened two container drayage facilities in Front Royal, Virginia, and Portland, Oregon, in response to customer demand.

Beneficial cargo owners and harbor trucking companies that consistently experience long turn times at container terminals may want to fire their ocean carriers.

With a potential U.S. West Coast labor disruption just days away, truck traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is reportedly slow and congested, making it difficult for some shippers to get containers out of the port complex that handles 40 percent of U.S. trade.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission is looking whether a program designed to alleviate congestion by encouraging shippers to move cargo during nontraditional hours at Los Angeles-Long Beach isn’t delivering better service in exchange for higher fees.

An industry group seeking ways to improve performance of the Port of New York and New Jersey has issued 23 recommendations covering chassis, trucking, communication, performance indicators, and more.

The Port of Virginia has launched its Navis N4 terminal operating system at Norfolk International Terminals two weeks ahead of the scheduled July 4 start date.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission wants to ease congestion at ports and is considering hosting a forum for terminal operators and drayage drivers to discuss how to speed the movement of containerized goods at the gates.

Truck drivers in Vancouver who suspect that they are being paid less than the minimum rate established by the government can now voice their complaints via a hotline established by the port authority and the British Columbia transportation ministry.

Harbor trucking interests at Port Metro Vancouver are working with port and government transport officials to prevent driver unrest from escalating into another damaging strike at Canada’s largest port.

The Canadian government is contributing C$3 million to a new project that aims to reduce trucker wait times at Port Metro Vancouver.

Direct ChassisLink Inc. plans on July 1 to launch a program to provide emergency road service to truckers using DCLI chassis that aren’t in cooperative pools.

APM Terminals’ management in India’s Port of Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva) is asking shipping lines and agents to speed removal of import containers to ease congestion at the terminal.

The Manila daytime truck ban that was suspended to clear containers choking the Philippine port for the World Economic Forum East Asia summit last month is back in force, but with a slight modification.

Port Metro Vancouver is capitalizing on a lull in cargo activity before the peak-shipping season begins this summer to implement key aspects of the most ambitious effort in North America to improve truck turn times.

An industry committee tackling congestion and other problems at the Port of New York and New Jersey is close to agreement on recommendations, but one potential solution — an appointment system for drayage drivers — faces stiff opposition from motor carriers.

PierPass Inc. announced today that over the coming year President and CEO Bruce Wargo will transition to the position of chairman, and a search will be conducted for a new president.

A picket line established by independent truck drivers briefly shut down a container terminal at the Port of Long Beach today, but the impact was confined to one facility and was unlikely to result in terminal closures elsewhere in the harbor.

A New Jersey state senator has introduced an industry-supported bill to clarify port drivers’ status as independent contractors. The bill is a counterpoint to Teamsters-backed legislation seeking to reclassify the drivers as company employees.