Port News

The Blue Ridge Connector will have 18,000 feet of working track and an annual lift capacity of up to 200,000 containers while providing shippers with an all-rail service from Savannah.

The long-time Vancouver Fraser Port Authority executive has helped to lead the port’s gateway infrastructure program to develop road and rail projects designed to facilitate cargo movement.

Shippers who have built East and Gulf coast routings into their supply chains are taking no chances, raising the need for contingency plans in discussions with carriers and NVOs ahead of 2024 contract renewals.

The spending program will target the company’s logistics and services arm with a “substantial amount of investment” earmarked for its ocean and terminals infrastructure in the region.

Liner operators in THE Alliance will switch transits on three services as low water levels on the Panama Canal reduce the number of ships that can use the main artery for container trade between the US East Coast and Asia.

While container volumes have largely returned to normal historical levels, ocean carriers still have not been able to restore performance to pre-pandemic levels.

The Class I railroad sees an opportunity to tap growth at the Gulf Coast’s busiest port with new intermodal lanes, while expanding its inland reach from Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The move complements a flurry of Asia-India service additions by niche regional carriers and newer feeder operators in recent months.

The intra-Asian region is expected to be a hotbed of mergers and acquisitions in container shipping because that is where the growth in container demand is centered, writes analyst Lars Jensen.

Given the persistent downward pressure on demand, it remains to be seen if India-US carriers will be able to push through a new round of modest rate hikes planned for December.

The carrier is looking to expand beyond its two current services jointly offered with other liners with a standalone service meant to take advantage of the growing shift in sourcing from India.

The project, in coordination with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, is due to be completed in late 2024 and will help move cargo faster through Western Canada.

The Norfolk expansion plans from resin logistics specialist Katoen Natie come as more plastics production is going onstream in the Northeast US.

With peak season at hand for ag exports, shippers say weak US import volumes have constrained the supply of repositioned containers they need to send goods overseas, risking disruption to their supply chains.

The four-phase, seven-building project with CSX rail connections will support the growing needs of importers and exporters using the port.

Still, the latest Indian trade data presents some hopeful signs for supply chain stakeholders, as the country's merchandise exports grew 6.3% by value year over year in October, the fastest rate of expansion in a year.

While October is typically one of the busiest months of the year for West Coast ports, the region’s market share of imports from Asia slipped markedly from September, but carrier executives said that was an anomaly linked to capacity cuts in the eastbound trans-Pacific.

The bill is a response to growing CBP demands that ports pay for new inspection-related equipment, or risk having the agency reduce the amount of time its officers spend performing inspections.

There was significant improvement in Hamburg’s operational indicators through the third quarter, especially those covering trade with China, its biggest source of imports.

The long-standing spread, typically about $1,000, is now half that as volume growth returns to West Coast ports and shippers increasingly tap into Southeast Asia manufacturing.

GPA's ability to handle growing volumes has attracted the likes of Rivian and Hyundai, both planting roots in Georgia to export vehicles from new facilities through Brunswick.

The International Maritime Organization voted in May 2022 to implement the so-called Maritime Single Window from the start of 2024 in a bid to accelerate digitalization in shipping.

The direct service that kicks off at the end of the month will add further options to transport apparel, textiles, poultry, pork and agricultural products between Central America and the US East Coast.

The incident comes as dockworkers announced a further series of strikes this week at DP World's four Australian terminals in an ongoing row over new rostering arrangements.

The move holds considerable significance as it comes amid accelerated efforts by India and the US to boost bilateral ties at multiple levels.

DP World Australia plans to hike terminal access charges by up to 50% at its four terminals in the country from Jan. 1.

Alongside broader talks on wages for its members, the International Longshoremen’s Association said individual ports need to use more union supervisors and foremen, particularly throughout the South.

The cracks in the gateway’s attractiveness to importers and exporters out of the US Midwest were showing before this July’s work stoppage and the decline in import demand across North America.

The ILA president says further progress on a new master contract, as well as port-specific local deals, can’t happen until the two sides agree on coastwide pay hikes.

Once fully complete by 2025, the current expansion project would allow the port to handle 1.1 million TEUs annually, up from 650,000 TEUs.

On top of the sailing cuts, some recent vessel arrivals at India have been behind schedule by up to a week, resulting in cargo rollovers, according to forwarder sources.

While the carrier will not hold the controlling share, expanding its presence in Hamburg will cement MSC’s terminal operating position in Europe’s third-largest container shipping port.

The Singapore-based carrier has now expanded its access to capacity in the strategic locations of the US West Coast, North Europe and Southeast Asia.

Ahead of an International Longshoremen’s Association conference, president Harold Daggett has warned union rank-and-file to be prepared for the “possibility of a coast-wide strike.”

Along with the grant for the Port of Wilmington’s proposed container terminal, Tacoma and Long Beach received grants for improving truck and rail access, respectively.

Given the current growth rate, Morrocco’s Tanger Med could reach its nominal annual container capacity of 9 million TEUs as early as next year.

Six amicus briefs have been filed to the US Supreme Court supporting the South Carolina Ports Authority’s position that the ILA is illegally forcing carriers to boycott Charleston’s Hugh Leatherman Terminal as a means to acquire jobs that belong to state employees.

On-time performance to the West Coast improved during the busiest month of 2023 for Asian imports to date, but East Coast reliability took a dip.

Pacific-focused Matson has already enjoyed the return of some cargoes that had been diverted to the East and Gulf coasts but are now returning to the West Coast after the ILWU ratified its contract in September.

Developers of the Sparrows Point Container Terminal are starting the permitting process with the US Army Corps of Engineers that will allow construction to begin in 2025.