AS Survey: U.S. East Coast ports outperforming West Coast counterparts

Survey of 60 shippers, carriers, LSPs and brokers rated Savannah and Charleston as the top performing ports in the United States, while Oakland was received the worst scores in chassis availability and overall port performance.    United States West Coast ports are still lagging behind their East Coast counterparts in terms of performance, according to a selection of shippers, third party logistics services providers and freight brokers surveyed by American Shipper in September.
   The survey of nearly 60 U.S. port users found that the ports of Savannah and Charleston received by far the highest marks out of the 17 biggest U.S. ports, followed by Norfolk and Jacksonville. The Port of New York/New Jersey was also graded well relative to West Coast ports.
   Among the West Coast ports, Seattle and Tacoma received the highest scores, followed by Long Beach and Los Angeles, while Oakland fared the worst.
   In terms of chassis availability by region, respondents again picked Savannah as the best, followed by Norfolk, the Pacific Northwest ports, New York/New Jersey, the Southern California ports, and then Oakland.
   About 45 percent of respondents said they don’t believe the primary ports they use are adequately equipped for peak season, compared to 30 percent that believe their ports are adequately prepared. The other 25 percent were uncertain.
   Nearly 40 percent of respondents said their visibility into port congestion and the ability to plan around that congestion is good or very good. Another 40 percent said their visibility into congestion is fair, while 12 percent said they have poor visibility and the other 7 percent said they have very poor visibility.
   More than a third of shippers and 3PLs said they have shifted volume from West Coast ports to East Coast ports because of the congestion crisis at West Coast ports in the second half of 2014 and early 2015. Nearly 60 percent said they have not, while the remainder were uncertain. Of those that shifted cargo, 46 percent shifted 10 to 15 percent of their volume, while a quarter shifted by 5 to 10 percent and another quarter shifted 15-20 percent.
   Fifty-five percent of respondents shifted cargo away from the U.S. West Coast to gateways outside the U.S. East Coast like U.S. Gulf Coast ports or those in Canada or Mexico.
   Nearly 40 percent of respondents said they budgeted moderately more this year than 2014 to account for port delays (another 4 percent budgeted significantly more). Close to 40 percent said their budget remained the same, while 7 percent budgeted moderately less.
   Just more than half of respondents said they don’t expect their peak season volumes this year to be different from 2014, while nearly a third expect them to be moderately higher, and close to 10 percent expect them to be lower.
   Finally, 51 percent of respondents said the Federal Maritime Commission should play a more active role in regulating carriers, container terminal operators, and ports, while 20 percent said the agency shouldn’t and just shy of 30 percent were uncertain.
   Fifty-three percent said Congress should develop a national freight policy that would set operational standards at U.S. ports, compared to 31 percent who said no and 17 percent who are uncertain.