Port News

Officials celebrated the start of operations at Mumbai port’s new $300 million offshore container terminal with the arrival last week of the Hoegh Delhi, a roll-on, roll-off vessel.

The Port of New York and New Jersey handled record container volume in October, and port officials report progress on a broad effort to prepare for larger ships expected to accompany the mid-2016 raising of the Bayonne Bridge.

Strong consumer spending in the U.S. over the past three months has depleted inventories and the replenishment drive to restock shelves for the Spring launches will keep air and ocean carriers busy well into the first quarter.

Bill Wyatt, Port of Portland, Oregon's executive director, plans to retire within five years, according to Portland Business Journal.

Hong Kong’s rapid transition into a transshipment hub has been driven in part by the high cost of exporting South China containers through the port compared to neighbouring Shenzhen, but losing direct export cargo removes a key revenue source for shipping lines.

U.S. West Coast contract negotiations could go one of two ways when the International Longshore and Warehouse Union convenes a caucus in San Francisco in the week beginning Dec. 15.

A barge port and industrial center are planned on the 800-acre site of a former paper mill at St. Marys, Georgia, just north of the Florida state line.

Citing congestion, the G6 Alliance will omit eastbound calls at the Port of Los Angeles for four straight weeks, starting Jan. 1

American Honda Motor has selected Florida’s port of Jacksonville to export new Acura MDX and TLX models to the Middle East, further solidifying the U.S. Southeast’s status as a growing region for auto production and trade.

The increase will push terminals’ utilization rates to 75 percent in 2018 from the 68 percent of 2013, Drewry said.

Meanwhile, West Coast ports continued to whittle away at the backlog of vessels and containers that had accumulated over the Thanksgiving weekend.

The U.S. trucking industry is committing to hire 100,000 military veterans over the next two years to fight a shortage of truck drivers as the military begins to reduce the number of active service members.

Port Metro Vancouver is putting the finishing touches on the first drayage program in North America that will seek to balance truck capacity with demand in order to promote profitable operations for motor carriers and a sustainable wage level for drivers.

The port of Boston continued a streak of year-over-year volume gains in November, handling 16.5 percent more cargo last month.

The ports of Seattle and Tacoma are one step closer to creating an alliance to protect and even expand their container market share after getting a green light — one of two needed — from U.S. maritime regulators.

With congestion and other terminal-related charges increasingly impacting bottom lines, ports are rapidly moving to center stage in ocean carriers’ strategic planning.

The critical levels of congestion frustrating shippers and carriers in Hong Kong has lent an urgency to the findings of a government study recommending more land being made available to cope with growing transshipment volumes, increased barge traffic and a shortage of yard space in the port.

Containers continued to pile up at U.S. West Coast ports over the Thanksgiving weekend as negotiators for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association met separately today to prepare for face-to-face negotiations on Tuesday.

Indian transport officials hope injecting Rs 1,755 crore (US $276.7 million) into a rail project and multi-purpose cargo terminal on the country’s east coast will help kick-start efforts to make cargo movements more efficient and reliable.

The Alabama State Port Authority has contracted with a construction firm to build the first phase of intermodal rail facility aimed at making the port of Mobile more attractive to shippers.

The ports of Seattle and Tacoma are scrambling to improve their intermodal access to the hinterland to protect the discretionary cargo they have, and, perhaps, even regain business lost to Southern California and Canadian ports.

The International Longshoremen’s Association has appointed a trustee to temporarily oversee its largest Baltimore local, a move that could help resolve a local contract dispute that led to a three-day strike in October 2013.

Concern that an equipment upgrade program announced by India’s largest container handler, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, is not proceeding on schedule has prompted local ship agents to seek another intervention with the port administration.

The U.S. West Coast port congestion drove shippers to air freight at the worst possible time with rates for air cargo at the seasonal highpoint of what is turning out to be the most robust peak season in years.

A crushing defeat of Taiwan's ruling China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party at local elections late last week wasn’t enough to derail closer cross-strait trade links as Ningbo Port Group signed a cooperation agreement with the port-controlling Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC).

For the fourth straight week, JOC.com readers were voracious for LA-LB congestion coverage, but as port woes continue, delays on the West Coast are beginning to trickle down the supply chain. Nine of JOC's top 10 stories for the week concerned port congestion, with the exception one story on the Nicaragua canal.

The port of Piraeus has approved a long delayed-agreement with Cosco Pacific under which the Hong Kong-based company will invest a further 230 million euros ($285 million) in container facilities at Greece’s largest port.

There is optimism that the congestion choking the port of Manila since February may finally be addressed after Philippine government officials and the shipping industry came together in the capital to tackle the crippling problems.

Seven container ships, two more than the previous day but fewer than earlier in the week, were at anchor on Thursday morning awaiting berths at the congested ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

The port of Rotterdam will triple the discount on tariffs for deep-sea containers that are transshipped to other ports in Europe over the next three years in a move likely to trigger a response from its main rival Hamburg.

A yard expansion project by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) in Manila has been completed and will help the port address the growing volumes and congestion that has choked the port since February.

The Port of Seattle Commission on Tuesday approved its 2015 budget that calls for $373.8 million in capital expenditures for the seaport and for Sea-Tac International Airport.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association are meeting independently today to consider various issues that have been raised in contract negotiations, although they remain ready to reconvene face-to-face talks in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday if necessary.

Congestion at West Coast ports could get slightly worse over the Thanksgiving weekend as longshoremen and employers take time off to celebrate the holiday.

APM Terminals is eyeing expansion in Turkey to take advantage of container volume growth at the nation's Mediterranean and Black Sea ports.

The idle container ship fleet has fallen to its lowest level since the global financial crisis erupted in late 2008 , as port congestion on the U.S. West Coast and in Manila keeps vessels in work.

Hamburg increased container traffic by 6.4 percent in the first three quarters, closing the gap with Rotterdam, the European market leader, and stretching its lead over third-ranked Antwerp.

Shippers face another round of woes even after their stalled containers move from congested Los Angeles-Long Beach via intermodal rail to Chicago.

The International Transport Workers' Federation is battling with the Panama Canal Authority, accusing the PCA of trying to shut down a tugboat captains' union in advance of the canal's expansion.