North American ports

Multiple factors are lining up to rock the traditional stability of the trans-Atlantic, even as those on the trade prepare for strong growth in volume.

Congestion in Los Angeles-Long Beach has stabilized at an elevated level, but how long the congestion continues will depend largely on import volumes between now and the beginning of the peak season in August.

Demand for warehouse and distribution space in the US continues to grow at record levels as e-commerce retailers and 3PLs seek larger facilities with more yard space to handle growing inventories.

The Texas legislation being questioned by two Federal Maritime Commissioners stemmed from concerns among non-container port users that the growing volume of containerships calling Houston are disrupting the ability of other vessels to transit in an efficient manner.

ONE CEO Jeremy Nixon said it may take up to four months before container shipping returns to regular schedules in the US after the COVID-19 demand surge.

Backups at US ports will diminish gradually over several months only as COVID-19 vaccines are distributed and infection rates slow, IHS Markit’s chief economist told JOC’s virtual TPM21.

The Port of Virginia will now set a hard date to accept export containers for each vessel, providing relief to BCOs dealing with frequently changing exporter receiving dates due to vessel delays.

Virginia’s shippers provide the port with information on their warehousing strategies that the port can use to allocate equipment and other resources, and at least 10 other shippers are slated to tap Virginia’s data feeds

Pacific Northwest ports are contending with late vessel arrivals and increased container dwell times due to weather events and strong Asian import volumes.

SSA Marine will provide $50.9 million on top of a $20 million federal grant to expand the capacity of its Blount Island Terminal at the Port of Jacksonville.

Trans-Pacific shippers are being hit with a double whammy of huge rate hikes and poor service as ports and inland supply chains struggle to handled a seemingly unending deluge of imports from Asia into North America.

Vaccinations of longshoremen in Los Angeles-Long Beach have begun, but since the ILWU and employers do not control the supplies, administration of the vaccines is erratic.

Texas is the epicenter of supply-chain damage caused by Winter Storm Uri, but the disruption is being felt nationwide. Mexican imports by truck may be delayed for days.

Volume has jumped more than 20 percent for three consecutive months in Savannah, which has slowed the supply chain for some shippers but not nearly as much as in Southern California.

Trans-Pacific carriers seeking relief from congestion in Southern California are approaching Oakland and Seattle-Tacoma as alternatives for first-call inbound services.

Retailers project record year-over-year import volumes each month through June as US consumers continue to shop with no end in sight.

Seeing glimpses of improved productivity, terminal operators in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach predict a return to some sense of normalcy between April and June.

FMC Commissioner Carl Bentzel said rerouting ships to the ports of Seattle and Tacoma could take up to six weeks, but he doesn’t see a better alternative to easing Southern California port congestion.

The British Columbia ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, as well as US East and Gulf Coast ports, will be looking to further increase their share of US imports from Asia in 2021.

After a sluggish start to the year, US imports from Asia came roaring back in the second half, with an even higher concentration than usual flowing through the largest container gateways.

Cargo gateways across the US Southeast will invest upwards of $850 million in 2021 on a wide range of enhancements that will allow terminals to handle multiple vessels of 14,000 TEU and above simultaneously.

Despite an acceleration in COVID-19 cases among longshoremen in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, waterfront employers say there are enough general dockworkers to handle near-record container volumes, although a shortage of trained equipment operators is a problem.

Rapid collaboration by stakeholders as 2020 wound down helped prevent more than half a billion dollars in tariffs from being imposed on goods waiting at anchorage off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Amid continuous double-digit year-over-year increases in imports, the Port of Los Angeles will financially reward terminal operators that achieve key metrics in improving cargo velocity.

The World Bank and International Association of Ports and Harbors are urging ports and maritime ecosystems to quickly find public and private solutions to digitize operations and build data-sharing initiatives to bolster trade growth.

After a likely decline in annual container volumes at the Port of New York and New Jersey in 2020, the largest US East Coast gateway is focusing on improving efficiency, including through better data sharing with truckers.

Agricultural exporters say operational bottlenecks at the Port of Oakland caused by late vessel arrivals from Los Angeles and Long Beach are even worse than they were in the fall.

Kip Louttit, executive director at the maritime exchange, said that 18 more vessels are slated to call the port complex over the next three days, as ships at anchor outpace ships at berth.

Agricultural exporter Scoular will open a transload facility this summer to export soybeans out of the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina, adding to its existing relationships with ports in Virginia, South Carolina, and Southern California.

Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel is looking into ways that Houston could handle larger vessels before a widening project is complete, given a Texas law that puts size limits on port calls.

South Carolina Ports Authority on Wednesday filed an unfair labor practice charge alleging an illegal secondary boycott in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.

Expecting a return to volume growth, the ports of Houston and New Orleans are dredging and enhancing terminals to allow calls from larger vessels, while Tampa Bay will add capacity through new truck gates and additional gantry cranes, among other projects.

The Port of Virginia’s new CEO will start his job Jan. 19 and immediately have a host of short- and long-term projects to oversee to position the port as a top East Coast gateway.

Congestion issues in Los Angeles and Long Beach have been so severe during the past six months that the US Federal Maritime Commission has opened a formal investigation into carrier practices the commission believes are contributing to the problems.

Drayage capacity in Miami is tight due to an unusual late-year surge in fruits and vegetables, cigars, and casual wear, causing truckers to be booked up seven to 14 days in advance.

Because asset owners can’t economically invest in excess capacity for volumes that may never materialize, the risk of supply chain disruption caused by external shocks, especially surprise surges in demand, likely will never go away.

With import volumes exceptionally high for this time of year, terminal operators in Los Angeles-Long Beach are bracing for a labor shortage as workers take time off during the holidays.

Approval of the Water Resources Development Act this year includes authorization to begin spending down the more than $9 billion balance in the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund.

Despite an all-time record in container throughput last month in Norfolk, the Port of Virginia has maintained fluidity through terminals and ensured equipment is available to truckers.

A weekly service will carry 53-foot domestic intermodal containers between Tampa and Brownsville, Texas, for cross-border shipments between the United States and Mexico.