Terminal Operations – Pacific Maritime Magazine

02 Aug

Port of Oakland Monthly Cargo Numbers Drop

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online News, Terminal Operationscontainervolumes, oaklandseaport, portofoakland

Overall cargo volumes fell at the Port of Oakland in June compared to the same time a year ago, according to new data released by the port July 28. The Northern California seaport processed 163,757 loaded TEUs in June, 1.5% less than the 166,252 TEUs recorded in June 2021. With empties factored in, total volume dropped 2.9% year over year, data show. The port did see a slight 0.5% uptick in import volumes with 95,530 TEUs last month, but the increase was countered by the 4.2% drop in loaded exports. In June, the port handled 68,227 TEUs in loaded exports…

02 Aug

LA, Long Beach Ports’ Container Dwell Fee Delayed to End of August

Karen Robes MeeksNews Briefs, PMM Online News, Terminal Operationscontainerdwellfee, pola, polb

Officials at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are delaying to the end this month implementation of the “Container Dwell Fee” that would charge ocean carriers for imports lingering past their allotted time at terminals. The new tentative start date for collecting on the fee is set for Aug. 26, the longest stretch of time the ports have postponed the fee launch. Previously, they had been moving the start date weekly based on how quickly ocean carriers have been able to move cargo off their docks. So far, Los Angeles and Long Beach port officials have seen a…

29 Jul

PMA, ILWU Reach Tentative Consensus on Health Benefits

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online News, Terminal Operationsilwu, labor, pma

Contract talks between West Coast longshore workers and their employers moved forward July 26 when the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union announced that both parties tentatively agreed on contract terms related to health benefits. “Maintenance of health benefits is an important part of the contract being negotiated between employers represented by the PMA and workers represented by the ILWU,” both parties said in a statement. Each side has agreed not to disclose details of the tentative agreement while talks continue, and that this portion of the agreement is “subject to agreement on the other issues…

29 Jul

Monthly Imports Down at U.S. West Coast Seaports, PMSA Data Shows

Pacific MaritimeNews, News Briefs, PMM Online News, Terminal Operationsimports, maritimeshipping, pmsa

Imports arriving through U.S. West Coast seaports in May fell 4% from the same time a year ago, while U.S. East Coast ports saw an 8% uptick in the same time period, according to the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association’s latest West Coast Trade Report. While year-over-year percentages dropped for U.S. West Coast ports, ports along the Pacific still processed 43,569 more imports in May than the nine U.S. East Coast ports monitored by PMSA. Meanwhile, West Coast ports saw exports in May 5% from the same time a year ago, PMSA data show. Regarding trade with Asia, West Coast seaports…

29 Jul

Oakland Terminals Reopen Following Truckers’ AB5 Protests

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online News, Terminal Operationsab5, drayagetrucking, portofoakland

After days of truckers protesting AB5 shut down terminals at the Port of Oakland, the port’s marine terminals are up and running again. “The Port of Oakland has resumed full operations,” Port Executive Director Danny Wan said in a July 25 statement. "We appreciate the independent truck drivers' use of the designated Free Speech Zones and we thank local law enforcement for their continued assistance.” Terminals reopened Saturday, July 23, after hundreds of truck drivers began protesting the implementation of AB5, a state law mandating stronger language for labeling workers as independent contractors. The law that was adopted in 2018…

26 Jul

Monthly Cargo Volumes Down at NWSA

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online News, Terminal OperationsNWSA, portofseattle, portoftacoma

Maritime cargo volumes last month fell 10.3% to 309,123 TEUs at the Northwest Seaport Alliance seaports of Seattle and Tacoma, with imports tumbling 15.4% and full exports dropping 8.8% compared to the same month last year, according to data released July 19. The ports saw lowered vessel calls brought on by congestion at other ports, ongoing service suspensions and above average import numbers from June 2021 as factors in the declining numbers, Seaport Alliance data show. Year-to-date volumes are behind by 4% to 1,806,732 TEUs, with imports down 6.9% and exports falling 24.2%, according to NWSA’s figures. “Ocean carriers have…

26 Jul

Container Dwell Fee Launch Again Delayed at LA, Long Beach Ports

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online News, Terminal Operationscontainerdwellfee, pmsa, pola

Officials at the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaports have decided to again move the start date of their Container Dwell Fee, this time to July 29. The officials again agreed to delay a fee that would charge ocean carriers for imports staying at terminals past their allotted time after seeing a combined 26% drop in lingering cargo since Oct. 25. Officials said that they plan to continue monitoring dwell times over the week. The temporary fee, which lasts until Oct. 26, was developed with the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, U.S. Department of Transportation and supply chain stakeholders…

22 Jul

Port of Seattle Sues Boeing Over Superfund Cleanup Costs

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online News, Terminal Operationsboeing, portofseattle

The Port of Seattle filed a civil lawsuit against Boeing Co. on July 19 saying that it wants Boeing to reimburse the port for millions of dollars in superfund cleanup expenses in the Lower Duwamish Waterway. The Seattle seaport is asking Boeing for reimbursements spanning 22 years and is also seeking the court to establish “a fair share for Boeing to pay for future cleanup costs.” The port said that for decades the company “pumped polychlorinated biphenyl from numerous transformer vaults (holding leaking transformers) at its Plant 2 facility directly to the Lower Duwamish Waterway.” The port also contends that…

22 Jul

Truck Driver Protests Shut Down Oakland Port Terminals

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online News, Terminal Operationsdrayagetrucking, portofoakland

The Port of Oakland this week saw operations at its shipping terminals shut down after hundreds of truck drivers began protesting the implementation of AB5, a state law mandating stronger language for labeling workers as independent contractors. The law, adopted in 2018, was recently affirmed by the courts after the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to review it. “We understand the frustration expressed by the protestors at California ports,” Port Executive Director Danny Wan said in a July 20 statement. “But prolonged stoppage of port operations in California for any reason will damage all the businesses operating at the ports…

22 Jul

Dwell Time for Rail-Bound Cargo Remains High at LA, Long Beach: PMSA

Karen Robes MeeksNews, News Briefs, PMM Online News, Terminal Operationsdwelltimes, maritimeshipping, pmsa

In June, the amount of time rail-destined cargo lingered at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach was among the highest recorded by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, according to new data released Monday, July 18. Last month, the average time containers stayed at terminals before leaving on rail was 13.3 days, two days longer than the 11.3 day average recorded in May and the highest average dwell time observed since January 2021 when PMSA started regularly tracking dwell times in San Pedro Bay. Imports leaving by truck in June were also up from the previous month. Last month,…