North American ports

The Port of Seattle Commission has approved $267.7 million for the State Route 99 Alaska Way Viaduct Replacement Program.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has filed a lawsuit against the Port of Portland, Ore., alleging numerous ongoing violations of the Oregon Public Records Act.

The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners today approved a new port master plan, updating the Port of Los Angeles’s development policies and procedures for the first time in more than three decades.

A program to require radio-frequency identification tags on trucks serving container terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey will go into effect Aug. 19.

The Port of Baltimore’s public marine terminals handled a record 9.55 million tons of general cargo in fiscal year 2013, from July 2012 through June 2013...

The Port of Tacoma in Washington has hired Dustin Stoker to direct its new operations center.

Ocean carriers, struggling to make a profit in the face of overcapacity and declining freight rates, are taking dramatic and sometimes unexpected actions to slash costs. In this environment of frenzied cost-cutting, the proprietary container terminal operated for a single shipping line is becoming an endangered species.

ExpressRail, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s rail system that serves the port’s marine terminals, has handled its 5 millionth container since it opened in 1991.

The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has plans to consider the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013 when Congress returns from its August recess in September...

The planned two-berth terminal at Southport in South Philadelphia, which will have an estimated cost of $300 million to $400 million, will have a target capacity of 750,000 20-foot-equivalent container units annually when fully built out. Together with the 450,000-TEU Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, Southport will give the Port of Philadelphia total capacity of some 1.2 million TEUs.

South Jersey Port Corp. is building a large new bulk and breakbulk terminal on two brownfield sites totaling 180 acres where a BP liquid bulk terminal and a Dow Chemical plant once stood.

A coalition representing environmental and community groups and the Teamsters union has filed a lawsuit seeking to invalidate a permit to raise the Bayonne Bridge in the Port of New York and New Jersey until a more thorough environmental study is done.

Two months of operational delays are straining the capacity and finances of drayage operators throughout the Port of New York and New Jersey. Carl Frederick, co-owner of Container Transport Services, said he's never seen anything quite like it.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., have introduced Senate and House bills to allow local governments to ban high-polluting trucks from ports.

Port of Oakland executives are stepping up their efforts to reduce the congestion at marine terminals that has made life miserable for harbor truckers during much of July.

This summer’s delays at the Port of New York and New Jersey have resulted from labor shortages and low productivity at container terminals, not from a shortage of trucking capacity, a leader in the port drayage community said.

Maher Terminals said it “has turned the corner” on the troubled implementation of a new operating system, and that the Port of New York and New Jersey’s largest container terminal will be ready when its volume returns to normal levels.

The Port of Baltimore is gaining market share on its big rival to the north, the Port of New York and New Jersey.

The Georgia Ports Authority handled record tonnage in fiscal year 2013, and a record volume of freight moved by intermodal rail.

NEW YORK — The executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey defended the agency’s bridge and tunnel toll increases and said toll revenue is not being diverted to the over-budget World Trade Center rebuilding or other port authority real estate projects.

The Port of Vancouver USA’s board of commissioners has unanimously approved a 10-year lease with the Tesoro-Savage Joint Venture for a crude oil handling facility at the port.

The New York Shipping Association said per-container assessments on cargo moving through the Port of New York and New Jersey will be lowered on Aug. 1, reflecting reduced operational costs.

The Port of Hueneme’s board of harbor commissioners has approved a contract amendment with California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District that furthers the port’s plans to build a shore power infrastructure system, as part of its Shoreside Power Project.

The Alabama State Port Authority has approved a concession agreement with Alabama Steel Terminals to develop a new $36 million steel coil handling facility...

New York Container Terminal and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have agreed on a plan to offset the impact of bridge toll increases that have raised truckers’ costs and reduced cargo volume at the Staten Island terminal.

Drayage industry leaders say the Port of New York and New Jersey faces the loss of cargo to rival gateways unless it can end delays that have produced seven consecutive weeks of long truck lines outside container terminals.

By this time next year, the Port of New York and New Jersey's Global Container Terminals will leapfrog Virginia International Terminals’ Portsmouth facility as the East Coast’s most technologically advanced container terminal.

Oregon’s Port of Portland reported total container traffic totaled 13,934 20-foot-equivalent units in June, rising 21.5 percent year-over-year from 11,473 TEUs and 7.1 percent month-over-month from 13,014 TEUs.

The first shipment of imported Fiat cars from Italy has arrived at the Port of San Diego’s National City Marine Terminal.

The Port of Philadelphia handled 168,820 20-foot-equivalent units in the first half of 2013, jumping 24 percent from 135,656 TEUs handled during the first half of 2012.

The Port of Tacoma reported its container volume in the first six months of 2013 was 930,794 20-foot-equivalent units, increasing 29 percent year-over-year.

The Port of Oakland’s board of commissioners has approved a resolution that officially ratifies the election of new board officers.

The Port of Tampa and AMPORTS have signed a letter of intent to develop a new terminal dedicated to the import and export of automobiles and rolling stock.

The Port of San Diego’s board of port commissioners has adopted a $180 million budget for fiscal year 2013-2014.

The U.S. economic recovery has not brought as much container volume growth as expected, according to an Asian transportation report by Jeffries, a global investment banking firm.

Christiansen Enterprises has moved into a 10,500-square-foot facility at Washington’s Port of Kalama to meet increasing demand from the forest products industry for its dry kilns, parts and services.

The Port of Hueneme has hired John Demers as chief operations officer, according to Kristen Decas, the California port’s CEO and director.

The Port of Charleston’s container traffic in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, totaled 1.56 million 20-foot-equivalent units, increasing 9 percent over the previous year.