Port News

Long Beach Container Terminal is rolling out a trucker interface program that uses APIs to automatically notify truckers of container availability.

The Panama Canal on Friday increased from 44 feet to 45 feet the permitted depth of vessels passing through the critical waterway as canal authorities have begun to walk back depth limits introduced over the last seven months due to a lack of rainfall.

A recent uptick in pest presence in properly treated and marked wood packaging materials (WPM) has US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) rethinking its ISPM 15 enforcement policies.

Harold J. Daggett, who led negotiations for the International Longshoremen’s Association that forged the six-year master contract banning automated terminals from ports on the East and Gulf coasts, was re-elected as the union’s head at its convention Thursday.

Grants awarded under the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program will support 20 projects across the United States, including the elevation of a tunnel to allow double-stacked trains get into the Port of Baltimore and the rehabilitation of a Port of Miami container terminal.

There was no sign of slowing European economies in the Port of Rotterdam’s first half results, which put the critical gateway on pace to best last year’s record throughput.

Violations of ISPM 15, which maintains strict guidelines for treatment of all wood packaging materials (WPM) to prevent the accidental introduction of invasive pests, can result in the re-exportation of entire shipments of goods and large fines, even if importers and carriers have followed the regulations to the best of their abilities.

A study of shipper interest in moving cargo by barge on different routes around the Northeast Coast is expected to be underway by the end of the year in the latest exploration by New York and other authorities of ways to shift cargo from trucks to barges, reducing pollution and congestion.

A so-called “Cyber Resilience Center” would give Port of Los Angeles stakeholders a centralized forum in which to share information on potential cyber threats.

It has taken many years, but finally dredging work on the crucial river access to Europe’s third-largest port has begun.

Yilport and the Mississippi State Port Authority are making headway in agreeing to a concession and aim to have a binding letter of intent — featuring a roadmap of planned investments — by the end of the year.

The government of Canada commits $102 million to improve cargo velocity and terminal fluidity at the west coast ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

Maryland and the Port of Baltimore will have to find $103 million in funds for the $466 million Howard Street Tunnel project after the federal government awarded only $125 million, just over half of the $228 million requested.

A VIP program to be rolled out by Fenix Marine and Blume Global in Los Angeles this autumn aims to push actionable shipment data and appointment slots for specific containers to BCOs, NVOs, and truckers to reduce truck visit times as well as cut down on multiple handling of containers.

A new transloading facility, this one for plastic pellets, will generate increased exports at Prince Rupert. Laden exports now comprise 25 percent of total container volume at the Fairview container terminal, which was originally envisioned as primarily an import gateway.

US importers say they face a lack of alternatives, feedback, and proactive sourcing information from enforcement officials when treated and apparently compliant wood packaging materials (WPM) fail ISPM 15 inspection.

Although drayage rates are rising annually, digital load-matching platform DrayNow says expenses are dropping due to shorter lengths of haul, a trend true for international containers, too.

While data suggests some modest gains in volumes, Indian ship owners say the country’s cabotage liberalization has resulted in no real positive impact on the country's containerized supply chains.

A tentative agreement between ILWU Local 13 and APM Terminals assures that dockworkers will be re-skilled or up-skilled for the jobs of the future created by automation.

A new study shows a growing percentage of the Port of New York and New Jersey drayage fleet is making its first stop close to the port, an apparent reflection of the desire by shippers and logistics providers to use near-port warehouse space. That demand continues to create a tight market, with lease rates hitting new highs in the second quarter.

After strong cargo growth in 2018 due in part to diversions from Southern California, North America’s Pacific Northwest region is using a slower 2019 to implement process improvements and infrastructure developments needed to handle future growth.

Ongoing labor tension between dockworkers and DP World Australia ratcheted up on Thursday after the company said it would cut 10% of its workforce. Shippers, meanwhile, are feeling the impact of ongoing strike action by dockworkers.

The traffic mitigation fee that is used to offset the costs of operating night and weekend gates at Los Angeles-Long beach has been a sore point for BCOs, who want greater transparency on the collection of fees and how the revenue i dispersed.

While incentives implemented by the Indian government have sparked an increase in coastal and transshipment volumes, it has come at the financial expense of private terminal operators in the country.

Three months after a federal court voided the 2018 results of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union’s election of top officers, the union is still awaiting instructions for holding a new election.

The prolonged rent increases over the past decade for logistics space are beginning to moderate, although growing imports and strong demand for e-commerce fulfillment space in the largest seaport cities will keep industrial real estate development robust through the end of the year.

Truckers say the owner-operator model underpinning much of New Jersey’s trucking sector is threatened by a series of measures adopted by Governor Phil Murphy designed to crack down on the misclassification of full-time employees as independent contractors.

New Jersey’s approval of an 1,100-megawatt offshore wind project could be the start of a wave of offshore wind projects that the Port of New York and New Jersey believes will eventually require a specialized terminal to support the wind energy supply chain.

The new CEO of the Santos port authority has ambitious plans for South America’s largest container port, including building closer ties to China.

Terminal operators worry that when peak season volumes begin to build in August, container dwell times at on-dock rail yards will surge, and then rapidly spin out of control as they did last year.

The shallow drafts pushed up spot rates on cargo from Asia, although it’s unclear how much was due to reduced loading capacity and how much was used by carrier representatives as simply justification to seek higher rates.

The vote, following more than four hours of heated and oft-raucous debate on Wednesday, is more symbolic than impactful

The cargo terminal at the Port of New Orleans has been shut and the Port of Houston is on alert as the Gulf Coast braces for Tropical Storm Barry, which could make landfall along the Louisiana coast late Friday or early Saturday as a Category 1 hurricane.

Though many ports and stakeholders have already begun using an enhanced digital collaboration platform, India has set a July 20 deadline to get the laggards in line.

The Port of Houston will get its first route to Costa Rica in a new service linking the port to the Mediterranean, Central America and the Caribbean, taking the total number of services that call at the port to 22, once two new 2M services to the Far East begin in August.

Chris Lytle, a 53-year veteran of the transportation industry, is stepping down from the top job at the Port of Oakland after six years; he’ll assist in the search for his replacement.

As the International Longshore and Warehouse Union turns to political means in a bid to undo previously agreed contract terms on automation, interested parties are looking ahead to 2022 when the current contract comes up for renewal.

Truckers continue to battle turns of more than an hour at times in BNSF’s Lot 16 outside Chicago, where the railroad has instructed all empty containers to be returned. This means drivers complete fewer jobs per day and shippers have to wait longer for service.

Crane workers Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal in India have slowed operations in recent weeks over a contract dispute, and data shows their actions are having an impact on volume flow through the facility.

The GCT Bayonne terminal in the Port of New York and New Jersey should be expanded into a major cargo hub, according to a port master plan that contains a proposal for increased rail capacity, more space for handling containers, and the creation of warehouse and distribution center space in and around the terminal.