Top 25 North American Ports

The two candidates standing for election appear to have identified the correct formula concerning two leadership factors.

Growth at the Port of Baltimore is driving up truck turn times and forcing operational changes.

It took the new management team at APL’s Pier 300 in Los Angeles only three months to improve truck turn times from the worst in the harbor to the fourth best among the 12 terminals. And they accomplished it by deploying a "customer focus/consumer focus" strategy.

Pushing data back to users may very well prove to be the pivotal point at which the container shipping industry shifted en masse to portals. But getting to that step will likely require another cultural shift.

Beneficial cargo owners can anticipate higher rates this peak season as Yang Ming and its THE Alliance partners announce removal of a trans-Pacific string. This development follows a similar service reduction in late June by the 2M Alliance and was accompanied Friday by an increase of 20 to 30 percent in spot rates.

The port is attracting new business — aided by two infrastructure improvements and stronger international demand. But the situation, like so many trade sectors, is fluid: a trade war would likely affect the bullish trend.

US ports can follow the lead of West Coast ports, which have developed a smart strategy to prepare several weeks in advance for sudden surges or drops in cargo volumes.

The port’s board of directors Tuesday selected Shaun Stevenson to replace Joe Rektor, who has served as interim president and CEO since October.

The Canadian economy is “humming,” an economist says, but can it outrun trade disputes with its largest trading partner?

Despite concerns that the intense bursts of cargo exchange triggered by mega-ship calls could stress port resources and systems, the port has seen no notable increase in congestion, terminal-gate truck backups, or chassis access problems after the raising of the Bayonne Bridge.

Global Port Tracker predicts record imports this autumn, with load-center ports once again under the gun to efficiently handle containers for their beneficial cargo owner customers.

The Port of Charleston received $49 million for dredging this year, less than the $90 million it sought. However, beneficial cargo owners do not have to worry because South Carolina will provide a $50 million bridge loan, and the $558 million project is still on track to be complete in early 2021.

Via frequent outreach to truckers, beneficial cargo owners, and railroads — including a culture change — Total Terminals International has gone from having the worst truck turn times at the ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach to becoming one of the more efficient terminals.

Ocean carriers, shippers, and other business decision makers have big plans for Canada, where strong container trade growth is expected in the immediate years ahead. The key task now is to fully fund vital infrastructure improvement and expansion projects to maintain that promising momentum.

In 2017, US imports of household goods jumped as home projects and construction soared on economic strength, and the outlook calls for continued growth in 2018.

A key US retailer group asked the Federal Maritime Commission to turn down the new fee structure with a mandatory appointment system, or at least delay a decision, and it offered several reasons for its stance.

The goal of the 12 terminal operators at LA-LB is to promote uniformity for drayage operators and more efficient service for beneficial cargo owners in PierPass 2.0 via a common set of rules for trucker appointments and peel-off operations.

Auto manufacturers and shippers should find capacity increasing on the Europe-to-East Coast route, as Grimaldi Lines launches 10 new roll-on, roll-off ships, in a move triggered by growth in auto cargo volumes passing through East Coast ports.

Shippers concerned that future worker shortages due to Baby Boomer retirements and other factors could impair the ability of ports to handle rising cargo volumes, and diminish their efficiency, might take comfort from efforts at the Port of New York and New Jersey to create a vibrant worker pipeline for the future.

When it comes to finished-automobile shipments, US South Atlantic ports are in a sweet spot. Regional population growth is boosting demand for imports, and new auto assembly plants are bolstering exports.

International Longshoremen's Association and United States Maritime Alliance committees report “significant progress” during two days of bargaining on a new master contract that BCOs hope will be settled well in advance of the Sept. 30 expiration.

Three new simulators at the Port of New York and New Jersey enable crane operator trainees to get hands-on experience, as well as guidance from nearby trainers, rather than taking up valuable time on a real crane.

The Port of Virginia’s system is off to a good start; however it remains to be seen whether the shorter turn times will hold up once mandatory appointments expand to the congested Virginia International Gateway and Portsmouth Marine Terminal.

Many US ports are facing the challenge of handling container surges from today’s mega-ships with an operating schedule designed in the 1970s.

The Port of Baltimore won the single largest sum for maritime infrastructure in this round of TIGER grants.

The depth of 55 feet would make Virginia the deepest harbor on the US East Coast.

The LA and Oakland information portals are expected to spread to other US ports.

If the partnership between the ports of Virginia and Georgia works as port officials hope, shippers will see a smoother, more efficient process for moving cargo through the ports, potentially boosting the incentive to use them, rather than others, along the coast.

The Port of Charleston marked two milestones this week, celebrating the beginning of dredging in the harbor and the arrival of two ship-to-shore cranes.

The three-month Port of Vancouver meltdown caused by degraded rail service, record cargo volumes, and brutal winter weather appears to be nearing an end, but port users and rail shippers are calling upon the Canadian National Railway and Global Container Terminals Canada to cooperate more closely to prevent future chaos.

The due date remains January 2022, but that could be delayed if the federal government does not provide the entire $100 million Georgia officials have sought.

Growing imports are driving up demand, and rental rates, for seaport warehouses, but beneficial cargo owners in secondary and tertiary markets will likely face a truck capacity shortage due to the electronic logging device and warehouse space in those markets could actually see rental rates soften.

Channel-deepening projects at the ports of Savannah and Corpus Christi are included in the Trump administration’s US Army Corps of Engineers budget request; Congress has the final say regarding funding. Georgia's governor argued the Savannah project is the Southeast's most important infrastructure project.

Port officials cited the raising of the Bayonne Bridge as “perhaps the biggest driving force" in achieving the cargo volume increase.

Northwest Seaport Alliance reahes compromise deal with owner-operators.

The Port of Montreal is beating growth expectations and planning for the future.

Virginia is the latest US port to introduce appointment systems for truckers as marine terminals try to better handle the import surges caused by mega-ship calls.

BCOs calling at the largest US port complex want predictability, reliability, and velocity, and the port directors said those goals can be achieved only through technology and process improvements.

Truckers seek “dual transactions,” or revenue moves in both directions and at LA-LB, technology will play a key role in achieving that goal, which will also reduce turn times — getting cargo to its destination quicker.

The Trump administration announced the tariffs Monday in response to complaints from US-based manufacturers that foreign competition was unfairly flooding the US market with cheap imports.