North American ports

Signaling that resolution of congestion issues in Southern California is still a ways away, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are taking the additional step of asking the federal government for permission to work together to resolve the worst congestion seen in years at the largest U.S. port complex.

The Port of Long Beach on Monday will open a temporary 30-acre site for empty containers in an attempt to free up chassis and ease congestion that has frustrated shippers for months.

Confirming that eight months into negotiations progress has come to a standstill in West Coast longshore talks, employers on Monday requested federal mediators to enter the negotiations.

An inland port launched by the South Carolina Ports Authority roughly a year ago has exceeded its expectations, reflecting shippers’ interest in reducing trucking costs and securing capacity via intermodal rail.

The Port of Oakland will open a gate on Sunday and begin sending operational status updates to harbor truckers in order to reduce truck congestion.

As labor negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union heated up this week, JOC readers clamored for information on the topic.

Strong monthly volume growth at the Port of Tacoma came to an abrupt halt in November, when the port, plagued by labor productivity issues, saw international container volumes plummet 14.1 percent year-over-year, new port statistics show.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has rejected Maher Terminals’ claim that Port Authority of New York and New Jersey acted illegally in granting a more favorable lease to adjacent APM Terminals.

Holiday shoppers in Asia will have to deal with a little less Christmas cheer this year, as trans-Pacific shipments of Christmas trees from the U.S. Pacific Northwest are the latest casualty of West Coast port congestion.

FedEx was forced to turn away freight because of slowdowns at West Coast ports, a reminder of how port congestion is hurting the bottom lines of not just shippers but also the inland transportation providers they depend on.

Terminal congestion and alleged job actions by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union pulled down Los Angeles-Long Beach container volume by 1 percent on a year-over-year basis in November, according to statistics released by the ports.

Container volume through the Port of Charleston last month rose 8 percent from November 2013 as the South Carolina Port Authority recorded across-the-board increases in cargo volume.

Container volume handled by the Alabama State Port Authority rose 10 percent year-over-year in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, helping the authority post record revenue for its fiscal year ended Sept. 30.

Container terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey will close on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but will be open for regular hours on Friday, Dec. 26.

A surge in import traffic has led the Port of Houston Authority to extend its container terminal operating hours.

Sixty-six percent of U.S. shippers surveyed by JOC.com say they plan to ship less cargo through the U.S. West Coast next year because of ongoing congestion and delays, suggesting that ports from Long Beach to Seattle could lose market share just as they did after a 10-day work stoppage in 2002.

This week's International Longshore and Warehouse Union caucus in San Francisco may or may not be the end to seven months of contract negotiation that has engulfed the West Coast in disruption and uncertainty.

New data from a laboratory study shows Port of Oakland is nearing its goal of reducing emissions at the port by 85 percent by 2020.

The International Longshoremen’s Association agreed to unload military cargo from a ship returning to Beaumont, Texas, from Ebola-stricken Liberia after federal officials certified that the vessel posed no health risk.

For the sixth week in a row, JOC.com’s top stories center around continuing congestion at U.S. West Coast ports. But while eight of the top 10 stories centered on labor strife and delays, two other stories garnered attention: the massive, $1.1 trillion cromnibus spending bill in the U.S., and the factory shift from China to Vietnam.

Throughput at Port Everglades jumped 12.5 percent in October, newly released port statistics show.

The ongoing congestion plaguing U.S. West Coast ports is forcing shippers to re-examine their supply chains with an eye to building in more safeguards against shortfalls in product imports.

A massive federal spending bill is poised to get U.S. port funding closer to a set schedule over the next decade but will still come short of the target.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., has joined a New Jersey state senator in calling for abolition of the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor.

A model for improving truck turn times is emerging at ports on the West Coast of North America, involving a coordinated effort by marine terminals to open their gates at night and on weekends, and to spread out truck traffic through appointment systems with predictive analytics.

The relentless drive by container lines to reduce their per unit carrying costs through deployment of modern mega-ships means that the automation of marine terminals is inevitable. But each automated terminal will be tailored to the individual needs of the operator based on cost, volume and type of operation.

GCT Bayonne expects to pilot the Port of New York and New Jersey’s first truck appointment system in the first half of 2015, a terminal executive said at the 2nd annual JOC Port Performance-North America conference.

Moody's Investor Service today upgraded its outlook for U.S. ports from negative to stable for the first time in five years, on the back of rising U.S. container volumes.

U.S. port congestion delays are starting to cost shippers money — and customers in some cases.

NEWARK, New Jersey — Container dwell times at the Port of New York-New Jersey are down to 4.1 days this year from 6.5 days in 2013, and truck turn times have improved by 11 percent, but the port complex expects even better productivity in 2015.

With ships being the largest source of port-related air pollution at the Port of Long Beach, the port said it on Tuesday that it will implement an incentive to reward shipping lines for testing new air pollution-control technology.

Larger ships and rising volume will force West Coast ports to jump to a new level of technology by investing in automated yard stacking cranes, says Larry Nye, vice president of port engineering and planning firm Moffatt and Nichol.

As a port with one of the largest surpluses of empty containers in the U.S., New York-New Jersey is attractive to agricultural and industrial exporters needing containers but who often have a hard time getting access to them in the non-urban areas where their cargo typically originates.

With its larger, consolidated terminals handling larger volumes from bigger ship calls, the Port of Oakland is considering officially expanding its gate hours for the first time, its head said today.

The continuing congestion and delays affecting West Coast ports are reaching the point where it may leave the type of lasting negative impression that followed the 10-day work stoppage in 2002.

New revenues would be needed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to fund a proposed cross-harbor barge or rail tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey, Fitch Ratings said on Monday.

For some shippers, the Los Angeles-Long Beach ports provided the ultimate fake-out this year. They diverted cargo away from the largest container complex in the Americas in the spring, and then brought back imports through the ports after months of seeing no disruption— only to get slammed by the worst congestion in years.

Stopping at the congested Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex in October made container ships an average of 3.4 days late at the next port of call, industry analysis has shown.

The congestion that crippled Los Angeles and Long Beach this year and tarnished the reputation of the largest U.S. port complex will linger for awhile longer, but the ports’ chief executives are confident Southern California will once again be the gateway of choice for trade with Asia.