Port of Baltimore still digging out from container backlog

Gate-to-gate turn times at the mid-Atlantic port still haven’t completely returned to what is considered standard, although terminal operator Ports America Chesapeake did say that they are “returning to historical norms.”    The Port of Baltimore on Aug. 9 confirmed that its Seagirt Marine Terminal was still dealing with the after-effects of a labor shortage that began a month ago.
   The shortages occurred during the week of July 10, following the week of the July 4 holiday.
   “These labor shortages, combined with the prior four-day work week…resulted in increased inventory levels that impacted our service levels,” terminal operator Ports America Chesapeake explained in a letter to customers.
   A month later, gate-to-gate turn times still haven’t completely returned to what’s considered standard, although Ports America did state in its letter that they are “returning to historical norms.”
   “We successfully resolved the labor shortage and added additional container handling equipment to our fleet,” the company revealed, adding that it’s making several other changes to help gate turn times and improve the delivery process.
   Among the measures taken include making turn-time reports available online; providing additional online cameras to its website, for monitoring purposes; adding an hourly queue and turn-time clock to its website; and providing full terminal-wide Wi-Fi, so terminal activity can be monitored.
   Ports America Chesapeake, which in 2009 signed a 50-year lease to operate the Seagirt terminal, also said that it would add five additional inbound truck lanes at the Vail Street entrance this fall and six new rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGs) to its fleet in January.