North American ports

Although the two carriers are partners in the 2M Alliance, it was the addition of extra capacity in their standalone services that led them to handle a combined 40 percent of the cargo coming into the Gulf Coast last year.

The main advocacy group for US ports said the step change in port funding over the coming years will mitigate future congestion and allow for better cargo flow.

The long-term impact of container shipping’s moment in the sun — and in the crosshairs of regulators — will come down to which of two starkly divergent versions of reality carries sway in Washington in the coming months.

The assessment of storage fees inside a terminal creates competitive pressures among marine terminal operators, their container line customers, and the importers that contract with container lines.

Both sides say they won’t disclose details of the tentative agreement that would last through 2025 until it has been approved by their respective membership.

After the flurry of April contracting action and a rush of cargo to avoid new GRIs, carriers in May will show the industry the extent of their capacity control for their second half of the year, writes Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

The first-quarter profit estimates came as Cosco Shipping announced plans for a general rate increase on all dry and reefer cargo to the US from Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East from May 15.

How successful ocean carriers are in securing general rate increases comes down to the health of so-called green shoots of demand and the effectiveness of increased blanking of capacity.

After effectively shutting down the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach for two shifts last week, the largest International Longshore and Warehouse Union local on Monday engaged in a job action that delayed the start of cargo-handling.

Looming federal rulemaking over detention and demurrage billing policy continues to compel container lines to refrain from assessing free time fees on weekends and holidays, with Hapag-Lloyd the latest to make such a change.

The National Retail Federation’s April forecast for US import volumes shows little change from March, with the only shipper risk on the horizon the status of West Coast longshore talks.

The process of moving the T-5 matter through the courts could easily take a year or two, raising questions about how that will affect labor talks between the ILWU and PMA.

The closure of the international terminals at Los Angeles and Long Beach is sure to further raise the ire and frustration of US cargo interests who worry about disruption linked to the ongoing coastwide negotiations and resultant loss of discretionary cargo.

The two states have assured the police force in charge of labor oversight at the Port of New York and New Jersey that their ongoing work will continue regardless of the outcome of a Supreme Court decision in June over its status.

The move comes less than two months after GPA said it would stop offering evening truck hours at Savannah as volumes moving through the port have slowed significantly in recent months.

Ocean carriers are already rushing to fall in line with pending FMC rulemaking, with a string of liners announcing in recent weeks they will cease charging detention and demurrage on containers that cannot be picked up or dropped off when a terminal is closed for business.

The warehouse market near the Port of New York and New Jersey is seeing some tenants leave and new space becoming available, but that’s not a sign of a significant drop in demand, observers say.

Forwarder sources in India say they view the latest GRI attempts as nothing more than contract negotiation posturing on the part of the carriers.

The Hawaii deal would appear to highlight the growing impatience by some longshore locals and employers over the slow pace of coastwide negotiations, with negotiators under pressure from retailers and other cargo interests to reach an agreement soon.

The improvements are planned ahead of the Port of Virginia’s dredging project that will deepen Norfolk Harbor to 55 feet and widen its ship channels so the port can accommodate two-way vessel traffic.

Lower imports have prompted marine terminal operators on the US West Coast to cancel at least one work shift per week, something that has complicated cargo flow for exporters due to the resultant delays and higher transportation costs.

The Port of New York and New Jersey aims to complete a project in the next two years designed to speed the movement of intermodal trains as other ports along the East Coast jockey for discretionary cargo.

Reliability on the world’s busiest trade lane, the trans-Pacific, remains well below the global average, with recent performance to the West Coast showing ongoing deterioration.

The fast-moving developments around changes to detention and demurrage billing are happening amid an ongoing rulemaking process by the FMC around the assessment of such charges to consignees and their drayage representatives.

For ocean carriers, the decision to cancel sailings suggests they expect no rebound in trans-Pacific freight rates that are now at two-year lows.

US big-box retailers are receiving fewer imports while inventories remain elevated and US consumer confidence teeters, boding poorly for a significant second-half rebound in Asia container imports, writes JOC Executive Mark Szakonyi.

Ongoing uncertainty over longshore labor on the West Coast is disrupting the long-term relationships US agricultural exporters have worked to establish with their overseas buyers.

HMM’s decision to immediately cease charging demurrage fees at closed terminals comes as the US Federal Maritime Commission is finalizing rulemaking around free time billing practices.

Recovering US supply and lower shipping costs are benefiting resin exports, but the uncertain forecast for the global economy makes the outlook for more growth a guessing game.

The plea to the Biden administration comes just days after the Pacific Maritime Association said the latest job action by dockworkers caused “significant delays” at some marine terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Mississippi’s Gulfport is looking to add more container handling capability with Ports America planning to redevelop a shuttered terminal for cargo handling.

Ahead of a June deadline to issue new rulemaking on detention and demurrage billing, the Federal Maritime Commission is seeking clarity from carriers and terminals about billing shippers when container pickups and drop-offs are not possible.

Local freight forwarder sources in India say they view GRIs more as a tool to slow the erosion in rates rather than effectively trying to increase prices.

The Scan Baltic to USA service, which will begin calling Jaxport in late April, marks the port's second trans-Atlantic service and fifth container service.

The fast-track hearing schedule came after the South Carolina State Port Authority told the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals the port could become “bottlenecked” if ships can’t call the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal.

Maersk in April will stop collecting detention and demurrage fees on days terminals are closed and shippers can’t pick up or drop off containers, a move yet to be followed by competing ocean carriers.

ILWU Canada is seeking significant wage increases, while automation of cargo-handling equipment, a source of tension in past contract negotiations, will likely once again be a prominent issue.

While the ocean shipping market has largely normalized after COVID-19, stakeholders would be wise to pursue a business strategy that takes operationally disruptive events into account, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

Longshore workers represented by ILWU Local 13 are refusing to stagger their meal breaks at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, resulting in periods when no work is being done on the docks, says the Pacific Maritime Association.

As the US West Coast’s share of import TEU has fallen in recent years, analyst Larry Gross notes there is an important difference between declines due to sourcing location changes and declines due to loss of share by region.