Port News

CMA CGM’s move to expand its intermodal surcharge to Southern California reflects what some forwarders and drayage operators say is a worsening situation at the port complex as elevated Asia import volumes don’t let up.

Carriers working the Bangladeshi trade have been forced to manage a shortage of containers by importing empty boxes from the nearest hub ports and pushing importers for faster delivery of empties.

The price caps are among five commitments made by Hong Kong terminal operators to ensure the Hong Kong Seaport Alliance can continue to operate.

The busiest US Gulf Coast ports saw only a small decline in throughput during the first seven months of the year despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer demand in the US and abroad.

An October surge in imports from Asia, coupled with rail-related disruptions, are generating delays and excessive container dwell times at the Canadian ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

The Appalachian Regional Port has been more successful than port officials hoped, so the Georgia Ports Authority wants money to develop more land to store containers.

With more than $1.5 billion in port projects underway, Stephen Edwards is positioned to drive Virginia’s performance particularly in terms of the port gaining a larger share of Asia imports into the Midwest market.

The Leatherman terminal, along with new retail BCOs and resin exporters, will lead to a bounceback in volume after the COVID-19 pandemic crimped container traffic, the South Carolina Ports Authority said in its State of the Port address.

Forwarders and logistics experts say the arc of ports stretching from Houston to Tampa can become an even larger gateway for Asian imports as ocean carriers add more capacity between the two regions and ports upgrade and expand.

Responding to demands by port stakeholders to take immediate action to relieve congestion, Long Beach opens a near-dock container storage yard and Los Angeles is rolling out financial incentives for carriers and truckers for productivity improvements

UHL, one of very few carriers currently adding newbuildings to the multipurpose fleet, is scheduled to receive eight new F900 ships through December 2021, with the first ship scheduled for delivery in December.

Port software provider Portchain has grown the number of terminals using its berth optimization solution to two transshipment hubs in Europe as terminals seek to better align equipment, capacity, and human resources to vessel calls.

While the pandemic has resulted in a global drop in some sectors such as containers and ro-ro, Abu Dhabi Ports saw an increase in business owing to a spike in its logistics activity

With work to extend the Port of Halifax’s South End Container Terminal now complete, the PSA-operated facility is capable of handling multiple ultra-large container vessels at the same time.

Australian cargo owners have faced significant disruption for several months as a perfect storm of bad weather, terminal congestion, and industrial action by longshoremen caused extensive delays to freight shipments.

Three new import beneficial cargo owners will be using the port of Savannah in 2021, just one part of a thriving industrial real estate market in Savannah that has been resistant to economic downturn related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

India’s cabotage liberalization allowed foreign-flagged liners to transport laden export–import containers for transshipment and empty containers for repositioning between Indian ports without any specific license, paving the way for more cargo aggregation opportunities.

Intermodal equipment providers issue a dire warning that chassis shortages in Southern California will persist into next year, but truckers say that is unacceptable.

Europe’s two busiest ports report solid import demand from China through the third quarter, which has helped mitigate the weak throughput of the second quarter.

A new drayage TMS provider aims to arm port carriers with modern technology to automate back office functions and better manage dispatch and customer engagement.

While Halifax was the best way station immediately available for Montreal-bound containers, it still lacks capabilities as an emergency valve for Canadian importers due to its remoteness from inland distribution networks, stakeholders say.

The congestion that has plagued the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach over the past two months is expected to get worse in the coming weeks owing to a “record” spike in imports.

Available drivers have been hard to find with such a sudden and sharp rise in domestic and international container flows, placing a great deal of strain on the fluidity of the supply chain.

Two recent studies show how cheaper rail prices are helping drive port routing changes, and a new JOC analysis of data from the Intermodal Association of North America reveals how significant the shift has been in just five years.

The project grants are part of the US Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program, with funds going to 18 projects, almost half of which are earmarked for “opportunity zones” in economically distressed communities.

Newly released data shows the disruptive extent of unexpectedly high demand on the major trades out of China, with cargo rollovers continuing across Asia’s main transshipment ports.

Europe’s second-busiest container port has reported limited impact from COVID-19 on its nine-month throughput, with demand increasing in the third quarter.

Owing to California’s strict environmental requirements, as well as standards for the region outlined in the federal Clean Air Act, the ability of Los Angeles and Long Beach to expand their infrastructure and grow cargo volumes depends on achieving emissions-reduction goals.

Cargo handling and delivery of import containers to truckers in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has been severely compromised by the three-month import surge from Asia that continues at a double-digit year-over-year clip.

The pandemic-induced slowdown in global trade earlier in the year played a role in the marginal improvement in port efficiency since ports had to handle fewer boxes overall, but avoiding landside constraints also helped.

The purchase of Value Logistics gives Forward a bigger intermodal presence in the South-Central distribution hub as freight volumes of all types rise, said CEO Tom Schmitt.

A widely-used drayage management solutions provider has added the truck parking marketplace SecurSpace to help drivers find parking and equipment storage options directly in their transportation management systems.

How the dueling Vancouver port projects proceed is critical to how the largest Canadian gateway meets the demand for roughly 2 million TEU in capacity within approximately 10 years.

Monday’s opening of the new Gerald Desmond bridge in Long Beach, part of a massive $4.5 billion capital expenditure program, will provide the immediate benefit of reducing truck turn times.

India port stakeholders -- and carriers -- are expressing frustration over the 14-day quarantine for ships from China, which they say is causing disruption throughout the supply chain.

The Port of Virginia’s year over year volume rose in September for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, with truck turn times still less than 40 minutes on average but elevated rail container dwelling.

Mounting congestion at marine terminals in Los Angeles and Long Beach is adding to the woes of importers who have already been contending with shortages of equipment, warehouse workers and truck capacity.

East and Gulf coast ports offer significant rail-related cost advantages to the interior, leading the Pacific Maritime Association to urge West Coast ports to operate more efficiently in order to prevent further erosion of market share of US imports from Asia.

Houston’s need for additional space comes as it hopes to begin funding a multi-year channel widening project by next year amid a building boom for container ship capacity along the US Gulf Coast.

DP World and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) say they expect to finalize an employment agreement covering the terminal operator's Port Botany facility in Sydney next week.