North American ports

The sharp growth in container volumes at the ports of Houston and Mobile is spurring increasing demand to move freight via rail as truckers hit the limit on how much they can handle.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has told the CEOs of the western US railroads to address the problem of rising rail container dwell times in Los Angeles-Long Beach that is contributing to terminal congestion at the largest gateway in the country.

Officials at the busiest ports in the southeast US believe import volumes will grow through the summer, meaning vessels will continue to anchor outside the major gateways.

Veteran port executive Bethann Rooney will become the next director of the Port of New York and New Jersey upon next month’s departure of Sam Ruda.

The National Labor Relations Board said it will hold an election for longshore union representation for Caribbean specialist Tropical Shipping at the Port of Palm Beach.

Forecasting strong import growth this summer, US retailers warn ports of the urgency they face in addressing port-related supply chain bottlenecks.

If California ports are going to survive a second consecutive summer of congestion, shippers and their truckers must begin using newly created inland sites for temporary container storage even if those facilities are 50 miles from the water, port officials say.

Truckers working the Port of New York and New Jersey say they are not always being paid enough for increasingly longer trips away from the port to deliver empty containers.

The state of Pennsylvania said it will extend for another year an incentive program aimed at drawing ocean carriers to offload cargo at the Port of Philadelphia.

Proceeds from a clean truck fee launched Friday at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will go toward trucker subsidies and charging infrastructure needed to deploy a zero-emission drayage fleet.

A report from McKinsey & Co. says that ocean freight rates will only return to pre-COVID-19 levels if US demand for consumer goods slows and port congestion clears.

Sources close to West Coast labor negotiations say any result is possible — from a contract getting signed with little to no disruption to a meltdown lasting months to any scenario in between.

US port executives have told the Federal Maritime Commission that additional information about whose containers are on their docks would go a long way toward clearing congestion.

The pending talks come amid fears from shippers that an impasse could result in further disruption in a market that can ill afford it, with some cargo owners already shifting volumes to the East and Gulf coasts.

The Port of Savannah has received more than half a billion dollars to grow its container and ro-ro capacity and provide options to importers and exporters to relieve pressure on the South Atlantic Chassis Pool.

The Port of Mobile, CSX, and Norfolk Southern have asked that Amtrak be brought to mediation in its year-long petition to resume a passenger rail service along the US Gulf Coast.

The US Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a New Jersey law that would allow the state to exit the bi-state police agency charged with investigating criminal activity among longshore labor at the Port of New York and New Jersey.

Ports on the East and Gulf coasts have increased their share of Asian imports to record levels as shippers and carriers mitigate the risks of West Coast port congestion and potential disruption from upcoming longshore contract negotiations.

The South Carolina Ports Authority is no longer giving a timeline on when it will clear more than two dozen anchored vessels, acknowledging it underestimated the complexity of the factors causing the congestion.

New Jersey has filed a brief opposing New York’s attempt to keep alive a bi-state police agency charged with investigating criminal activity among longshore labor.

The US Department of Agriculture and the port of Seattle have announced plans for a “pop-up” yard that will help with the pre-positioning of export containers for ag shippers.

A second consecutive month of strong imports from Asia to start 2022 signals to US ports and supply chain stakeholders that the two-year streak of record or near-record import volumes shows no signs of abating.

Rather than a fixed fortification like the Maginot Line, Long Beach’s Pier B facility will be a versatile and adaptable tool to help handle future volume growth, the port’s executive director says.

The state of New York has filed with the US Supreme Court to stop New Jersey from leaving a bi-state police agency that has authority over hiring and firing at the Port of New York and New Jersey.

The need to share data among supply chain participants has become a priority amid record volumes of US imports that have resulted in vessel backlogs, terminal congestion, and a stressed inland logistics sector.

The Port of Mobile is receiving $200 million in federal funds that will boost major projects designed to make it an inland intermodal gateway.

A proposed mega-vessel container terminal in southern Louisiana has secured its first investment for a rail spur as it aims to get other financial backing.

Projections from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach show that after a lull of several weeks during the Lunar New Year holidays, import volumes will surge 30 to 60 percent later this month.

RoadOne IntermodaLogistics said a new transload facility that will open in August less than six miles from the Port of Virginia will help meet the growing need for e-commerce fulfillment close to consumers.

The Alabama Port Authority will receive $38 million in a federal grant that will go toward attracting new warehousing and improving truck access in and around the Port of Mobile.

The Port of Charleston is opening Sunday truck gates and adding longer operating hours on other days in an attempt to clear its terminals of import containers and pare down the queue of vessels outside its harbor.

The Port of Oakland and the Northwest Seaport Alliance have lent support to a Long Beach initiative designed to capture and make available container milestone information.

As the July 1 expiration of the current contract looms, the lack of reassuring signals from labor and management against a backdrop of still-heavy port congestion is leading importers to begin to shift away from the West Coast.

Outgoing White House port envoy John Porcari told TPM22 that lasting improvements to US port performance will need more than just the short-term changes he helped implement.

A reconfigured chassis pool will launch in 2023 covering three Southeast US ports, aiming to replace an aging fleet with new and refurbished chassis containing the latest technology and safety features.

Ocean carriers have been bouncing ship calls between Savannah and Charleston due to the congestion affecting both ports, but the moves present a logistical challenge for exporters.

The Port of Savannah will compete dredging work within a couple weeks to deepen its harbor to 47 feet and expand storage capacity by 2.7 million TEU by 2024, the Georgia Ports Authority said Thursday.

The Port of Charleston is not accepting export loads in the Wando Welch Terminal during the morning on Thursday and Friday as it struggles with a shortage of terminal space and faces a backlog of more than 30 vessels anchored outside its harbor

The South Carolina Ports Authority has proposed converting of one of three International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) locals from part-time to full-time work in exchange for the ILA settling its dispute over work performed at the new Leatherman terminal in Charleston.

California said that six state-owned properties will be made available for off-port container storage, five months after the state’s governor issued an executive order for more storage.