Port News

Container traffic at West Coast ports declined 3 percent in October compared to the same month last year. Imports were down 4 percent and exports dropped 2 percent.

The New York Shipping Association’s board unanimously reaffirmed its support of a lawsuit the NYSA and the International Longshoremen’s Association filed against the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.

One of the major headaches U.S. ports encounter in managing container trade flows is the imbalance in demand for loaded imports and exports. Ports handling more loaded imports than exports wind up with a lot of empties sitting around, taking up precious container yard space. Ports that focus on exports may have to scramble to find enough empties to load.

Hoffberger Holdings has plans to expand its distribution center at the Port of Baltimore.

CMA CGM has nominated Laurent Martens as vice president of its port terminals management subsidiary Terminal Link, effective today.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Lori Ann Farrell, former controller and chief financial officer for the city of Long Beach, was appointed to the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission to replace Nick Sramek, who resigned last week.

The Port of Oakland and the California Trucking Association are urging independent truck drivers not to carry through with a yet another strike in the harbor that is planned for Nov. 27.

The plan by Maersk Line, CMA CGM and Mediterranean Shipping Co. to form the world’s largest vessel-sharing alliance, which would control about 25 percent of the container volume in the trans-Pacific, presents great opportunity for U.S. ports, but also significant competitive risks.

The ports of Seattle and Tacoma’s combined container volume in October was 285,161 20-foot-equivalent units, declining 9.9 percent from 316,371 TEUs in October 2012.

The Georgia Ports Authority moved 274,362 20-foot-equivalent units in October, improving 19 percent year-over-year and 5 percent month-over-month.

WASHINGTON — A $900 million container terminal and free trade zone in northwest Cuba opening in January will be a Caribbean transshipment and could be major gateway for U.S. trade if the embargo ends, according to Cuban Ambassador Jose Cabana.

The New York Shipping Association and the International Longshoremen’s Association filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to enjoin the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor from “interference” in hiring of dockworkers.

The Port of Houston is sitting pretty atop twin economic engines. Its booming petrochemical sector is boosting exports, and its rapidly growing population base is fueling imports.

The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor’s scheduled Nov. 25 hearing on longshore hiring practices at the Port of New York and New Jersey has been postponed until a to-be-determined date in December.

Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott has plans to ask state legislators in an upcoming session for $9.7 million to expand the container terminal at Port Canaveral...

The New Jersey Motor Truck Association is discussing a possible lawsuit or Federal Maritime Commission complaint to force New York-New Jersey container terminals to pay truckers for drivers’ waiting time outside terminal gates.

Container volumes handled by U.S. West Coast ports grew more than three times faster than those at East Coast ports in the first eight months of the year, as lingering effects of last year’s labor negotiations and computer problems at one of the biggest terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey dragged down overall throughput growth.

APM Terminals Rotterdam Maasvlakte I in the Netherlands has plans to enhance five of its existing post-Panamax cranes to a 23-container row reach...

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Harbor truckers in Los Angeles-Long Beach are proposing a revolutionary plan to relieve port congestion by keeping marine terminal gates open round the clock, and paying for the increased operating costs by charging a fee on every container that moves through the ports.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — The Long Beach City Council Tuesday night voted to remove Harbor Commission President Thomas Fields from the port body, scoring a major victory for Mayor Bob Foster, but alienating the shipping lines and terminal operators who call Long Beach home in Southern California.

Chassisfinder.com, an Internet-based chassis reservation exchange owned and operated by Chassis Finder, has expanded its coverage to include locations in or near...

Harbor truck drivers backed by the Teamsters union made a statement this week by demonstrating against alleged unfair labor practices at three drayage company facilities in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area, but their actions had no impact on cargo-handling at the port complex.

Jersey City police conducting safety checks of trucks exiting Global Terminal in the Port of New York and New Jersey slowed truck traffic at the facility for a second consecutive day today.

Manufacturers of high-technology products all over the globe are near-shoring or intending to move production closer to the markets they serve.

The Long Beach Harbor Commission Monday decided to slow down its search for a new executive director to allow the nation’s second-largest container port to regain its political stability.

Port of Los Angeles truck drivers from Green Fleet Systems, American Logistics International and Pac 9 Transportation went on strike this morning to protest labor practices...

The U.S. Jones Act, which requires that U.S. domestic ocean cargo is carried from port to port in ships that are...

The Port of Virginia handled 206,597 TEUs in October, jumping 17.8 percent year-over-year and surpassing the single-month record for TEUs that was just set in July...

Former Long Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neill told the current mayor, Bob Foster, the city council and the Long Beach Harbor Commission that an item on the council’s Nov. 19 agenda is ill-advised and could lead to a loss of business at the nation’s second largest container port.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex’s total container volume in October was 1.26 million 20-foot-equivalent units, increasing 1.0 percent from 1.25 million TEUs in October 2012.

The volume of containers handled by major state-owned ports in India declined 4.56 percent year-over-year from April through October, but total cargo tonnage was up 1.68 percent, according to the latest provisional traffic data released by the Indian Ports Association.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey reported “continued progress” in its efforts to broker an agreement to settle a dispute over hiring of longshoremen in the port.

Organic volume growth of just 1.5 percent in the first nine months of this year at ICTSI’s global roster of container terminals was below expectations “considering its presence largely in emerging market economies,” according to analysis from Drewry Maritime Equity Research.

Long Beach Harbor Commission President Thomas Fields expressed concern Thursday that an attempt by Mayor Bob Foster to have him removed from the commission is damaging the port’s reputation at a time when major changes are taking place in the maritime industry.