North American ports

A report commissioned by the International Longshore & Warehouse Union suggests California levy a tax on automated terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach, with revenues directed to communities that suffer economic harm from the loss of dockworker jobs.

Jacksonville Port Authority’s chief executive sees a chance to reverse a downward trend in the port’s Asia business with the completion of dredging and marine terminal improvements that will allow post-Panamax ships to call.

The South Carolina Ports Authority will extend Sunday hours for truckers through September, one of several initiatives officials believe will help the port navigate the upcoming peak season.

The commander of the US Army Corps of Engineers has endorsed a study about the merits of deepening and widening the Port of New York and New Jersey to allow larger ships to call and reduce wait times.

The US Supreme Court will allow New York and New Jersey to file legal arguments about whether a 70-year-old compact for joint port policing powers also allows either side to exit the deal.

With new incentives, the Port of New Orleans and Louisiana state economic officials are targeting retail distribution centers to ease export-import balance that’s cost the port service and volumes.

The US Department of Agriculture plans to help fund additional chassis for reefer cargo at the Port of Houston and to subsidize dray moves to a Port of Tacoma pop-up yard.

Robust imports from Asia in May produced a new record, defying concerns about high inflation in the US and COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai.

A drayage technology provider in the ports of LA and Long Beach that has prioritized dual transactions for its driver network said it is seeing a majority of moves in 2022 involve coordinated empty container drop-offs and laden import pickups.

The Port of Houston is trying to expedite a $1 billion dredging project as an ongoing surge in containerized freight shows the need for more capacity at the Gulf Coast’s busiest port.

US retailers are forecasting near-record imports through the peak shipping season as back-to-school goods that have already begun landing are followed quickly by holiday season merchandise.

The Port of Houston’s two container terminals will be open on Saturdays through at least the rest of 2022 as an import wave continues to tie up capacity at the gateway.

The second service to call on Charleston’s year-old Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal arrived last weekend amid an ongoing labor dispute that has other carriers steering clear.

The Port of Baltimore will receive almost $16 million in additional federal funds that will complete on-dock rail improvements needed as part of the project to raise the Howard Street Tunnel for double-stack service.

A backlog of vessels is building off Savannah, but the Georgia Ports Authority says it’s in a better position to handle the heavy volumes now than it was when delays hit last fall.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is looking for additional land well ahead of dredging that would bring larger ships and double the freight coming into the busiest US East Coast port over the coming two decades.

Drayage operators at California ports are concerned that the final phase of the state’s clean-truck regulations that take effect on Jan. 1 will take a sizable bite out of truck capacity shortage in the harbors.

Drayage technology rollup Envase has added GeoStamp, a GPS-based port and drayage visibility and analytics provider, to its roster of tools for port carriers and intermodal providers.

The Jacksonville Port Authority plans to meet next month with a regional electric utility on how power lines that impose a draft restriction on ships can be raised.

Technology provider Draying.io wants to use its experience in developing a transportation management tool for carriers to help shippers automate the sourcing and pricing of port moves.

The Port of Mobile said a new weekly service to and from Guatemala and Honduras will allow shippers to tap the growing trade between the US and Central America.

COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai may not result in a sudden flood of volumes to the US, but the GPA says additional storage capacity at Savannah’s Garden City Terminal and pop-up storage sites will allow it to handle any unexpected spikes.

Amid supply chain gridlock throughout the US, the Port of Houston has signed an agreement to investigate the potential use of an electric rail shuttle system for inland container movement.

New data suggests fears of renewed and widespread port congestion in the US this summer are valid, particularly if growing imports collide with the start of peak shipping season and the return of normal cargo flow from post-lockdown Shanghai.

Port truckers who left to start their own companies in Savannah last fall are re-engaging with former employers as they struggle to find loads to haul amid the recent decline in dray rates.

The new director of the Port of New York and New Jersey said Shanghai’s COVID-19 lockdown is not causing any slowdown at the port because of an increasing number of containers from South Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

Sources interpreted the release of PMA’s port automation study as the group anticipating the potential for debate on the hot-button issue to gain widespread attention in the public domain during upcoming West Coast labor talks.

The head of the Pacific Maritime Association said he is optimistic about a smooth outcome for upcoming contract negotiations with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, though he defended automation as a key tool to grow terminal volumes.

Ocean forwarder UWL has introduced a new bi-weekly service from Vietnam into the US Pacific Northwest as shippers seek out additional vessel capacity to tap a growing source of imports.

Charleston has used several efficiency measures to slash the number of anchored vessels from 27 to five in two months — the lowest count of any major port along the US East Coast.

Approval of APM’s expansion project comes as Mobile continues to see strong growth, with year-to-date volumes through March climbing 10 percent.

Mediterranean Shipping Co. has added Philadelphia to its weekly service from India amid strengthening freight rates to the US East Coast.

Hapag-Lloyd has started a new Mediterranean service into the Port of Virginia that will also offer trans-continental intermodal service to the West Coast.

Seven ocean carriers blocked empty container returns to New York-New Jersey marine terminals last week as import volumes swell due to West Coast freight diversions.

Confusion over the intent of a number of public sector supply chain data initiatives to emerge in recent months might cloud the progress any of them might make individually.

A coming import surge composed of early back-to-school and peak season merchandise and pent-up shipments from Shanghai has ports and terminal operators in Los Angeles and Long Beach concerned about another summer meltdown.

The US Maritime Administration has signed off on Long Beach’s plan to develop a $1.5 billion on-dock rail facility that the port hopes will be used to move one-third of its container volumes.

The International Longshoremen’s Association alleges that agreements for marine terminal operations at Savannah and Charleston are anti-competitive.

Ocean carriers say they have swept more of the empty containers that have plagued truckers who have had to make extra trips further away from ports to store the boxes.

California’s seaports are taking a long-term view to increase cargo velocity and cut transportation costs via a massive — and costly — public-private initiative to develop inland port hubs.