Ports

The Port of Los Angeles reported that February volume—at 487,846 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—were down 43% compared to February 2022. The Port of Long Beach reported that total February volume—at 543,675 TEU—dropped 31.7% annually

Logistics Management (LM) Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently spoke with Matt Muenster, Chief Economist for Green Bay, Wisc.-based Breakthrough, an innovator in transportation management, dedicated to creating transparent and fair strategies for the world’s leading shippers. Muenster provided Berman with an overview of steps shippers need to take and consider, relating to inventory management, and the impact of key economic indicators on freight volumes, among others.

The long litany of headaches now includes ongoing labor negotiations on the West Coast that could quickly shift priorities of ports in the region. While the East Coast may continue to benefit from the uncertainty, the overall forecast for volumes in 2023 remains foggy.

For January, the most recent month for which data is available, Port Tracker noted that import volumes, for the ports covered in the report, came in at 1.81 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), for a 4.4% increase compared to December and a 16.5% annual decrease.

For the month of February, Descartes observed that U.S. container volumes—at 1,734,272 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—were off 16.2% compared to January, while falling 25.0% annually, and down 0.3% compared to February 2019 prior to the pandemic.

POLA reported that total January volumes—at 726,014 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—were down 16% compared to January 2021, an all-time record for the month. January POLB volume—at 573,772 TEU—was also down compared to a record January 2022, falling 28.4%.

For the month of January, Descartes noted that U.S. container volumes—at 2,068,943 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—were up 7.2% compared to December’s 1,929,032 TEU, which were down 1.3% compared to November, and its largest December to January increase in the last six years. While volume saw a sequential gain, they were down 16.1% annually, with the caveat that this tally was only 0.3% below a pre-pandemic January 2019. The report also noted that even though the Lunar New Year was in January, the subsequent...

A pairing of ongoing economic uncertainty and lower import volumes were the key themes in the new edition of the Port Tracker report, which was issued by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates.

For the fourth quarter, IANA reported that total intermodal volume—at 4,237,605 units—were off compared to the fourth quarter 2021. Total calendar year 2022 volume—at 17,716,445 units—were down 3.9% compared to 2021.

In this podcast, Jeff Berman, Group News Editor for Logistics Management and the Peerless Media Supply Chain Group, interviews Jonathan Gold, Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy, for the National Retail Federation (NRF).

In this podcast, Jeff Berman, Group News Editor for Logistics Management and the Peerless Media Supply Chain Group, interviews Jonathan Gold, Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy, for the National Retail Federation (NRF).

The hearing, which is entitled “The State of Transportation Infrastructure and Supply Chain Challenges," features leadership from various national organizations, including: Chris Spear, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Trucking Associations; Ian Jefferies, President and Chief Executive Officer, Association of American Railroads; Jeff Firth, Vice President, Hamilton Construction, on behalf of Associated General Contractors of America; Roger Guenther, Executive Director, Port Houston; and Greg Regan, President, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO.

When looking at the global supply chain, China’s role and influence on operations and processes cannot be understated. That was made clear by a pair of supply chain experts in a session at last week’s SMC3 JumpStart 2023 conference held in Atlanta.

In this annual webcast, group editorial director Michael Levans hosts our panel of logistics and freight transportation analysts who share their insights on rate patterns in all the major transport modes in an effort to help shippers prepare their freight transportation budget for the coming year.

A key takeaway of the report highlighted that December U.S. container import volumes saw a mild decline, down 1.3% compared to November, at 1,929,032 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), with a 21.3% annual decline. What’s more, December’s tally came in 1.3% ahead of December 2019, prior to the onset of the pandemic.