Port News

The Alabama State Port Authority has paid $25 million to acquire a 35-acre dockside tract for future expansion of Mobile’s container terminal and a 63-acre industrial site a half-mile from the harbor.

Robust container throughput in the first half drove up Cosco Pacific terminal revenue by 18.9 percent as strengthening trade saw a total of 32.48 million 20-foot containers crossing the state owned group’s wharves.

Now that the Port of Portland has taken away the jurisdiction of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union over the handling of refrigerated containers, the port authority is warning the leadership of the powerful union that a further loss of work opportunities could follow if productivity does not improve.

German-Russian business ties were on full display at a reception in St. Petersburg hosted by the Port of Hamburg, where politics was a main theme of discussion.

Officials at Argentina’s port of Rosario have urged their federal government to suspend a resolution that has banned cargo transshipment through Uruguay, alleging that the measure is severely affecting regional trade, the Buenos Aires Herald reports.

Retailers are growing anxious over the continuing lack of a U.S. West Coast longshore labor agreement.

The market for container terminals in the U.S. is being helped by cheap prices, low risk, and the advent of automation, according to the latest newsletter from industry analyst Drewry Maritime Research.

APM Terminals has completed the sale of its semi-automated terminal at Portsmouth, Virginia, to an investment group that will continue to lease the facility to the Virginia Port Authority.

The 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Napa Valley north of San Francisco early Aug. 24 caused no discernible damage to the Port of Oakland, a port spokeswoman said.

Striking truck drivers at the Chinese port of Ningbo have returned to work after a week of sometimes violent industrial action that brought terminal and drayage operations to a standstill.

The port of Manila is starting to feel the easing effects of measures put in place by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to clear containers that have backed up at the port since a day-time truck ban was imposed in the city in February.

The Port of Portland, Oregon, on Aug. 22 announced the cancellation of a contract covering two reefer jobs with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, citing dips in productivity at its Terminal 6 facility.

In the latest instance of drayage-related disruption, violence flared at Ningbo’s Beilun Container Port as thousands of striking truck drivers clashed with riot police and smashed the windshields of trucks crossing a picket line. The past week’s protests brought the world’s sixth-largest container port to a standstill, with carriers reportedly diverting ships.

The Ningbo container truck driver strike is escalating with trucks clogging the terminal gates and forwarders warning customers to expect missed sailings and a shortage of boxes as carriers divert some calls to Shanghai.

Container throughput at major state-owned ports in India expanded 5.3 percent year-over-year during April to July, the first four months of fiscal year 2014-15, according to preliminary figures released by the Indian Ports Association.

The Virginia Port Authority today said it’s on its way to profitability after kicking off its new fiscal year with a “solid start,” following a loss in the previous fiscal year.

With much of the attention of the international container shipping industry on gateway ports and congestion problems they’re experiencing in handling mega-ships, Turkish port operator Yilport Holding sees opportunity in short-sea and feeder operations.

Violence flared at Ningbo’s Beilun Container Port as thousands of striking truck drivers clashed with riot police and smashed the windshields of trucks crossing a picket line, according to the Hong Kong-based China Labor Bulletin.

South Carolina Ports Authority said its fiscal year 2014 results surpassed original plans, and now fiscal year 2015 is off to a good start too.

Port Metro Vancouver is receiving a modest windfall in container volume thanks to the uncertainties surrounding longshore contract negotiations on the U.S. West Coast, but it might have profited even more if its terminals had more capacity to handle diverted cargo. Projects are planned to expand its capacity substantially over the next 10 years.

The Port of New Orleans is revamping its Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal to the tune of $21 million after a bid was awarded to a Louisiana-based construction company.

Container volume is increasing at North Carolina’s Port of Wilmington thanks to carriers’ service expansions.

Brazilian waterways regulator Antaq approved $1.73 billion in upgrades for ports in Rio de Janeiro and Santos.

APM Terminals saw volume and profit rise in its second quarter, thanks to some of its terminals becoming fully operational and the addition of new terminals in growth markets.

Asia is king among global container ports, even if stalwarts such as Hong Kong, which slipped to fourth place last year in part because of a 40-day dockworker strike at five terminals, have retreated a bit.

The largest International Longshoremen’s Association local in Baltimore is disputing an arbitrator’s ruling that the union is liable for $3.86 million in damages for a strike that idled the port for three days last October.

China’s robust container throughput growth began to slow at major mainland ports in July as a European restocking drive faded and U.S. orders were brought forward to beat potential West Coast strikes.

The ports of Tacoma and Seattle each reported July container volume totals this week, and while Tacoma saw continued growth in cargo, Seattle’s traffic spiraled downward with drastic year-over-year volume drops.

The SSA Marine terminal at the Port of Oakland remained closed Tuesday because longshoremen refused to report to their jobs, even though the anti-Israel demonstrators who had blocked entrance to the facility on Sunday were long gone.

A new report released by The Boston Consulting Group indicates traditional views of where low-cost and high-cost manufacturing regions are located are out of date, suggesting companies should modernize their global sourcing and production networks.

The Association of Canadian Port Authorities is warning Canadian policymakers that inadequate development of port infrastructure could hinder the country from taking full advantage of its growing international trade.

The Port of Virginia's operating loss expanded to more than $17 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission is moving forward in a fledgling effort to reduce long truck wait times at some ports in the U.S. by holding a forum in Southern California next month and another in Baltimore in the fall.

Container volumes in Los Angeles-Long Beach were flat in July as uncertainty about the International Longshore and Warehouse Union contract negotiations resulted in cargo diversion to East Coast ports.

Demonstrators protesting events in Gaza idled a Zim Integrated Shipping Services vessel at the Port of Oakland on Sunday, and the ship could not be worked on the day shift Monday because the terminal operator could not secure enough labor.

Cargo is surging at northern European ports, but it’s not without consequences.

Shanghai International Port (Group) is calling for tenders as it prepares to offload a 20 percent stake in a container terminal joint venture with Hutchison Port Holdings.

Executives at Canada’s two main east coast container ports of Montreal and Halifax say a free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union will boost their volumes.

Container terminals in gateway ports around the world, already suffering from congestion caused by mega-ships, may not be able to keep up with their ever-increasing size because of limits on crane technology and the lack of yard space.