International ports

Global Container Terminals Canada said its Vancouver pilot project that will test a flat-fee model during the day and night shifts is designed primarily to reduce gate congestion by reducing truck bunching during shift changes and encouraging more dual transactions.

Ocean carriers, shippers, and other business decision makers have big plans for Canada, where strong container trade growth is expected in the immediate years ahead. The key task now is to fully fund vital infrastructure improvement and expansion projects to maintain that promising momentum.

The four vessels will more than double the transport capacity via this mode, as three vessels are already in operation, and more are expected to join the fleet in the coming months.

Stevedore service rates at Russian seaports have risen substantially since January, due to several factors, Russian transport officials and shippers confirmed. Further, stakeholders expect additional rate hikes ahead, given likely continued Russian economic and trade growth.

With Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust shippers increasingly opting to use speedy, direct port delivery to minimize logistics costs, third-party logistic providers no longer enjoy the bargaining power they had in the past.

Shippers and other Vancouver trade stakeholders hope precautionary actions by the transportation ministry and terminal operator Global Container Terminals Canada, to increase driver pay rates and shift from a congestion-based appointment charge to a flat fee effective June 1, prevent driver strikes and congestion that have substantially delayed cargo in the past.

Shippers that view Montreal as a quick and direct way to move cargo in and out of Canada, and perhaps connect to the United States, can rest easier regarding their assessment; a pilot program that extended gates by 4.5 hours appears to have diminished congestion inside the port.

Truckers and others are striking because Petrobras, the state-controlled oil company, has gradually increased diesel prices — by more than 40 percent — over six months, at the same time that the Temer administration has substantially hiked fuel taxes.

Canada's strong economic fundamentals, adequate transport infrastructure, large population close to key ports, and Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement implementation, among other factors, point to a strong trade performance in the immediate years ahead.

Sources at the public harbor told JOC.com that the APL Savannah, one of eight vessels deployed in the Europe Pakistan India Consortium 1 (EPIC 1), docked at Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals Monday.

Congestion at the port is at its worst during the May-September, trans-Pacific, peak shipping season, but officials hope the additional capacity and introduction of round-the-clock operations will result in less congestion this year.

Shippers should keep an eye on the Port of Quebec’s container terminal, but the deciding factor will be whether the economies of scale offered by larger vessel calls at the facility are erased by higher inland transport costs.

One shipping agent based in Santos, who represents a European carrier, said that the Port of Santos has been in “chaotic turmoil for most of this year,” but this week had been “the worst.”

The coalition of unions wants what it termed "three core job issues" addressed, which it says officials agreed to in August 2017.

APM Terminals Pipavav's strong uptrend illustrates how much the private, minor port benefited from a Maersk Line intra-Asia call.

Port leaders, however, expressed apprehension that any change in established operating practices could cause major commercial repercussions for Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in a hyper-competitive environment.

Port congestion at some Asian ports is delaying cargo.

Although there isn’t a permanent solution yet regarding the truckers’ concerns, shippers and ocean carriers using JNPT are expressing relief over resumption of drayage operations.

The truckers' strike is already affecting terminal productivity, according to gate move statistics.

Truckers are unhappy with the administration of a key port productivity program at the Port of Jawaharlal Nehru and are refusing to work.

The trucker groups want changes to JNPT's direct port delivery logistics program.

The stronger European economy with its rising container volumes and next-generation technology has exposed a weakness in the continent’s supply chain — and it’s one that will likely require the input of all stakeholders to eliminate.

Adani’s new terminal at Ennore has underperformed — despite the fact that it has one distinct transport service advantage in India's shipping industry.

Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust's comparatively mild start to 2018 did contain one unqualified bright spot.

Port managers want to re-brand the locale in a new, distinct role, with an eye toward two key markets.

The refinement is the latest time-saver from DP World, which has been at the forefront of automation and trade service improvements at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, with direct port delivery being a prime example.

Krishnapatnam has the freedom to adjust its service rates, depending on demand and by virtue of it being outside the purview of the port regulator.

The union has increased it's "all-day strikes" from one day to three days per week, and as a result, up to 4,000 containers are delayed daily, some for up to 21 days.

Currently, the Port of Novorossiysk is finishing a large-scale construction project that will enable it to vie for the status of a regional container hub, as well increase its annual container capacity to 1 million TEU.

The Prime Minister’s Office recently asked the Chittagong Port Authority to take proper measures to ensure that less-than-containerload cargoes are unstuffed in two days and delivered to the consignees within three days.

Mundra has used its strong rail link as a marketing tool, but new statistics indicate the private port's rail option has been a weakening magnet for more than six months.

The new concessionaire, which began full-fledged operations in early February, last week took delivery of three super-post-Panamax, ship-to-shore cranes, which brings the total number of such equipment there to nine.

Handling a mega-ship can draw in a large number of other modes at a gateway port, which are needed to shift the large volume of containers moving on and off the vessel.

In a recent letter to the Bangladesh High Commission in Kolkata, India's Kolkata Port Trust chairman Vinit Kumar expressed his consent to let Bangladeshi shippers use the ports it oversees — the Kolkata Dock System and Haldia Dock Complex.

Taking a cue from reform front-runner Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, authorities at other major public ports appear to be vigorously encouraging shippers to use the simplified mode of direct port delivery for their import discharges, bypassing third-party logistics providers.

The port, which is in the competitive gateway in the trans-Pacific trade, has grown rapidly since the opening of its Fairview container terminal in 2007.

Indian agencies overseeing the project eliminated a requirement and several other conditions previously needed by the ultimate winning bidder. However, these changes still need government approval before finalization of the contract.

It is a ‘good kind of problem’ to have: the Port of Barcelona faces a year ahead that will be hard to match, concerning volume, which means business boomed in 2017, and the outlook for 2018 is promising as well.

With container dwell times back below three days, port stakeholders in Vancouver are now focusing on the issue at hand, which is to marshal assets and share operating strategies so they are not caught flat-footed by a spike in volumes in peak season 2018.

After a container is unloaded from a vessel to the yard, the Chittagong Port Authority lets shippers store the container in the yard for free for four days; on the fifth day, storage rent is charged.