Dockworkers who keep West Coast cargo flowing are highly paid. Their bid for even higher pay is starting to affect the cargo flow.
The dockworkers’ union and terminal employers are still sparring over wages and benefits more than a year after contract talks began.
Trans-Pacific spot rates have pared earlier gains and remain at loss-making levels. Demand has yet to rebound.
America’s imports are not signaling a recession, at least not yet. Inbound volumes are rising from the bottom.
“Simply put, there’s no bigger priority right now than this contract agreement,” says Gene Seroka of the Port of Los Angeles.
Although import volumes show signs of a nascent recovery, the inventory overhang remains daunting.
After labor unrest closed Los Angeles and Long Beach on Friday, ports on the East and Gulf coasts look even more attractive.
U.S. importers have forsaken their traditional gateway in Southern California. Many may be gone for good.
“We knew the port terminals, we understood their operations, but mostly we understood their systems and data. We thought we could be the bridge that wasn’t created before that could speak both parties’ languages and get containers in and out,” said BlueCargo co-founder and CEO Alexandra Griffon.
Los Angeles continues to face a double whammy of sinking demand and fears over the port labor contract that expired in July.
The Georgia Ports Authority said a 16% drop in imports year over year “was fueled in part by reduced orders in retail and manufacturing.”
What can be done to alleviate emissions and decarbonize transportation in the ports?
American imports remain a tale of two coasts, with continued strength in container volumes headed to Atlantic ports.
Remaining queues of waiting ships are dwindling, another sign that supply chain pressure is winding down.
Container shipping lines are gradually getting their services back on schedule, but they still have a long way to go.
Containerized imports to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have now fallen well below pre-COVID levels.
Shippers and carriers are increasing the pressure on ports and other supply chain participants to roll out “green corridors” using digital technology.
Southern California’s container-ship logjam ends as congestion eases at East and Gulf Coast ports.
The head of Los Angeles’ port is on a worldwide sales blitz, trying to convince shippers and carriers to come back.
Imports remain 7% higher than pre-pandemic levels, with volumes steadying last month after September’s plunge.
