Port News

The port of Itajai risks losing future business from shipper skittishness after a protest shut the second-largest Brazilian container gateway for more than 30 hours this week.

The Port of Virginia handled a record 2.39 million twenty-foot-units of containers in 2014 while returning to profitable operation and working to bring congestion and delays under control.

A New Jersey appellate court has upheld the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor’s right to revoke the license of a port hiring agent for associating with organized-crime members.

The world’s largest container ship, the 19,100 TEU CSCL Globe, sailed into the British gateway Port of Felixstowe this week to make its maiden European call in a loop that will include Rotterdam, Hamburg and Zeebrugge.

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said the Southern California ports continue to work toward a Feb. 1 roll-out date for a neutral, or gray chassis concept in the busiest U.S. port complex, despite the protracted contract negotiations between the longshore union and waterfront employers.

A fast-growing intermodal operator, ASF opened its 11th terminal, a drayage facility, as it looks to capture more Southeastern U.S. freight.

Next week’s visit to the Philippines by Pope Francis will further disrupt cargo movements in and out of the congested port of Manila, and the government has urged shippers to clear out their cargo from the port by the weekend.

A new stage of contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association launched today as the negotiations moved under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

Cargo diversion from U.S. West Coast ports due to congestion and alleged work slowdowns by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union took a toll last year.

Don’t expect any immediate negotiation breakthroughs when federal mediators wade into negotiations between the U.S. West Coast longshore union and waterfront employers, but a deal will likely be reached, according to two experts on labor negotiations.

The Port of Virginia will delay the launch of a truck appointment system at Norfolk International Terminals until this spring.

After months of appeals from industry groups, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service this week became involved in West Coast contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association. Here’s a guide to the FMCS and its role in collective bargaining.

The Chibatao container terminal in Manaus, Brazil, plans to spend 113 million-reais ($41.9 million) to boost its annual container capacity by two-thirds to 500,000 TEUs.

China’s top seven ports handled 118.4 million 20-foot container in 2014, up almost 6 percent on the previous year as foreign trade kept throughput growth in solid positive territory for every month during the year.

Hong Kong’s container terminals must be some of the most examined pieces of real estate in Asia, yet despite the government sponsored studies, industry reports and consultancy papers, the port’s future is no clearer than it was 11 years ago when the first master plan was published

In a major breakthrough, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union on Monday agreed to federal mediation to resolve contract negotiations that are now in their eighth month.

Asia’s container terminal operators will be the big winners in 2015, according to the latest HSBC transport indicators report that has International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) as one of its top picks.

Contract negotiations resumed today between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association after the holiday recess, but it appears that no significant progress will be made until both parties agree to compromise on the controversial issue of chassis maintenance and repair.

Dennis Morgan is taking the wheel as president of Cowan Systems, an evolving dedicated truckload and drayage carrier with trucking roots reaching back to the 1920s.

Several container terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey are extending hours for gate cut-offs this week to keep pace with heavy post-holiday demand for import deliveries.

The Port of Oakland and its terminal operators are chipping away at their cargo backlog by running Saturday and Sunday gates, and the weekend gate program could remain in effect for another month.

The Panama Canal Authority recently cleared the way for building a big new transshipment port at Corozal near the Pacific entrance of the canal that is expected to boost traffic once the current expansion project is completed in early 2016.

Poland’s Port of Gdansk is negotiating with Malta-based Mariner Capital on an agreement to privatize operations at the port’s multipurpose cargo terminals.

Two more U.S. West Coast newspapers have come out in support of a federal mediator to enter the stalled and increasingly acrimonious West Coast longshore negotiations, effectively siding with employers who have called for mediation.

The Metrans subsidiary of Hamburg port operator Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA) has brought its ninth terminal into operation on the main rail line connecting the German seaports with Prague, the inland hub serving the Czech Republic.

U.S. economic growth and disruptions on the West Coast are combining to make 2015 a promising year for U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports.

The Pacific Maritime Association on Friday answered a public relations blitz by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union by releasing statistics that show that over the past two months the union has reduced by two-thirds the number of skilled equipment operators being dispatched each day at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association enter the weekend at a standoff at Los Angeles-Long Beach as employers plan to reduce the number of longshore crews that will be assigned to work vessels on the night shifts, a move the union says will significantly increase the number of days it takes to work vessels.

U.S. manufacturing growth slowed in December with continuing delays at West Coast ports being cited as a contributing factor, according to the Institute for Supply Management.

The Pacific Maritime Association launched a game of brinksmanship on New Year’s Eve, notifying the International Longshore and Warehouse Union at Los Angeles-Long Beach that beginning Friday, employers on night shifts will dispatch only one longshore crew to work each vessel, rather than three as has been the norm.

West Coast ports will enter the new year with the same congestion problems and labor uncertainty that plagued them for much of 2014.

The Harbor Trucking Association of Southern California called upon all supply chain participants to work together to make the newly-opened depot for empty equipment a success, or it will not fulfill its purpose of relieving congestion at marine terminals.

Brazil has appointed a new Minister for Ports, Edinho Araujo, in a move that is sowing dissatisfaction among the port community. He who will take over from outgoing minister Cesar Borges on Jan. 5.

Buenos Aires' newest container terminal opened for business this week, amid declining volumes at the port in Argentina's largest city.

The port of Antwerp boosted container traffic 4.5 percent in 2014 to just short of 9 million TEUs, marginally outpacing the 4.2 percent growth in total throughput to a new record high of 198.8 million metric tons.

The Port of Long Beach on Monday opened a depot where empty containers can be temporarily stored. The depot will ease space constraints at congested marine terminals while also freeing up chassis for use in the harbor area.

The gloves have come off. If there is one issue that the Pacific Maritime Association know will undercut any possible sympathy the International Longshore and Warehouse Union would hope to have from the public, it is how much they make.

The Ecoporto Santos container terminal in Brazil is moving ahead with an expensive equipment upgrade despite not being guaranteed an extension to the company’s port concession period. This comes as competition among the Santos terminals is heating up, with handling rates eroding in 2014.

International Longshore and Warehouse Union President Robert McEllrath has challenged ocean carrier executives to become directly involved in contract negotiations in order to end the impasse that has existed since the previous West Coast waterfront contract expired on July 1.