Port News

Port of Mobile CEO Jimmy Lyons is optimistic about the Alabama port’s future, but he adamantly opposes the restrictions brought on by US trade disputes.

At the center of the issue has been an additional fee other terminals operated by DP World and APM Terminals sought to apply on BMCT-meant export-import containers handled via mixed trains connecting at their rail yards.

A fatal incident shut down the Fenix Marine Services (APL) terminal in the Port of Los Angeles Wednesday.

Prince Rupert master plan released this week cites key projects that will come online by mid- to late 2020s and assure Canada's Pacific Coast gateways of Prince Rupert and Vancouver can accommodate growth in trans-Pacific cargo into the 2030s.

The North Carolina Ports Authority is taking strides to be able to handle larger containerships while also developing quicker CSX service with its intermodal terminal in Charlotte to capture more business now sent to competitors.

Officials at the Port of New York and New Jersey say that although the steady increase in vessel sizes and discharge volumes at the port means that 20 percent of all containers are moved on ships of 13,000 TEU or more, the terminals have been able to handle the cargo smoothly.

Software issues that marred the initial deployment of India’s redesigned port community system have been resolved, but broader stakeholder concerns over data security remain.

The acquisition of two Canadian ports by global terminal operators offers them the chance to apply the resources and relationships built up around the world in service of boosting their cargo volumes in Canada.

ILWU Canada voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if necessary, but the union and employers have agreed to continuing bargaining until at least the end of May in contract negotiations that have been under way since February 2018.

Terminal operator GCT Global's $160 million investment in the Vanterm facility is part of a larger effort to keep up with growing demand at the port of Vancouver, which officials expect to reach full utilization within 10 years.

The purchase of Fraser Surrey Docks will increase the Dubai-based terminal operator's footprint on the Pacific coast of Canada, although the river port has limited potential for container cargo growth.

The Port of New York and New Jersey and other ports along the Gulf and East coasts are looking at how to reduce the cost and productivity loss that occurs when longshoremen hired for the weekend are unable to work due to vessel delays.

The first Central American vessel as part of two vessel strings from Seaboard Marine to the US East coast visited Savannah this week, a growing trade lane that has generated a 70 percent increase in imports in Georgia since 2014.

According to the NRF's monthly Global Port Tracker report, major US container ports will see "unusually high levels" of retail imports through the first half of the year despite Trump administration threats to raise tariffs on Chinese-made goods.

Coastal transshipment at Indian ports has grown considerably since the relaxation of cabotage rules, but detractors argue that privately operated minor ports have reaped more of the benefits than their publicly run counterparts.

Longshore workers in Canada are turning up the heat on the employers’ association in Vancouver as negotiations that began in February 2018 still have not replaced the contract that expired more than a year ago.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) announced the sixth reduction in its maximum draft this year for the Neopanamax locks on Gatun Lake as water levels continue to fall.

Shippers that import and export goods through the Port of Houston are being urged to contact legislators and express opposition to two bills that would limit mega-ship calls at the port to one a week.

On Monday evening, roughly 12,760 TEU of export containers, 8,914 TEU import containers, and 38,000 empty containers were clogging inland container depots near the port.

Thanks to the country’s strong manufacturing sector and reasonable economic growth, the increase in cargo handled by Mexico’s ports outpaced that of both the US and Canada in 2018.

Container growth at Halifax stalled in 2018, but the prospect for stronger growth remains, considering volume through the Nova Scotia gateway jumped 50 percent over the last five years, largely thanks to attracting new Asia services.

Oakland port commissioners set May 13 date to move forward on up to a four-year environmental and construction permit process that will ultimately determine if a controversial baseball stadium is built at Howard Terminal.

The port of Manzanillo is looking to reduce the waiting time for trucks to get into the port’s three terminals by creating external yards outside the terminals that can store import containers.

Chittagong — which suffers from a lack of container capacity, contributing to sporadic congestion even during good weather — ended operations 10 a.m. Thursday local time.

Following a strong first year in operation, Bharat Mumbai Container Terminals (BMCT) is expecting to capture additional cargo now that the facility is able to service multiple mega-vessels simultaneously.

Port of Oakland's proactive approach of meeting regularly with terminals, carriers, truckers, and BCOs to address operational issues early on has helped the Northern California port to avoid the congestion that plagued LA-LB this past year.

US importers paying tariffs might have some remedies at their disposal to limit their financial obligation, but many don’t know their options and are leaving valuable savings on the table.

San Francisco-based domestic freight broker Opus9 has added a new dimension to its instant pricing functionality by offering instant drayage rates.

Non-container vessel operators and users say the increasing size of container ships, and the narrowness of the channel, means that other ships are sometimes restricted from using the channel because container ships are so large no other vessel can occupy the channel.

The port of Montreal’s primary container terminals are developing programs that will cut turn times by allowing truckers to process container documentation before they arrive at the port in an effort to cope with rising cargo volumes.

Australian banking and investment group Macquarie Infrastructure Partners already has stakes in New Jersey's Maher Terminals at Port Elizabeth and Penn Terminals.

Supply chain stakeholders in the Port of Oakland argue that the development of a new baseball stadium on port property will disrupt trucking and rail operations, potentially bringing the port to “gridlock.”

Armed with more modern infrastructure and unregulated tariffs, privately operated ports in India have been growing volumes faster than their state-run counterparts.

The Port of Oakland is working with the city on a truck traffic plan that seeks to mitigate impact of growing container volumes and logistics developments on nearby neighborhoods.

The Port of Los Angeles is attracting support from ocean carriers, terminal operators, truckers, railroads, and other stakeholders for a proposed "cyber resilience center."

The port of Savannah expects to handle an additional 25,000 containers of resins exports this year thanks to plans by Plastic Express to expand production in Georgia.

As volumes front-loaded by retailers and manufacturers ahead of planned tariff increases during the winter months have subsided, so too has the congestion that gripped the largest US port complex.

Two inland ports tied to the Port of New York and New Jersey by rail could help get trucks off the road but, if completed, they won’t alleviate storage pressure expected to rise as the port grows its discretionary rail volume to the Midwest.

While the Port of Houston Authority ruled that only one container vessel larger than 9,500 TEU could traverse the port channel each week, the authority argues that enshrining the limit into law could have sweeping consequences that would damage the port economy.

Applications are now being accepted for $900 million in USDOT BUILD grants for the upcoming fiscal year, a 40 percent reduction from the $1.5 billion made available last year for port, road, and rail projects.