West Coast Ports

From October to November, Descartes reported that U.S.-bound container import volumes fell 9%, to 2,099,408 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), which the company observed is consistent with late-in-the-year declines seen in recent years. For the same period, from 2019 through 2022, volumes were down 8.2%, 8.3%, 5.0%, and 12.0%, respectively.

POLA reported that total May volume came in at 779,140 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), representing a 19.5% annual decline. And the Port of Long Beach reported that May volume fell 14.9% annually, coming in at 758,225 TEU.

Could the possibility of a West Coast port labor deal between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) be finally inching to reality?

On April 20, the ILWU said that it has reached a tentative agreement with the PMA “on certain key issues,” adding that talks are continuing on an ongoing basis until an agreement is reached.

With the gradual reopening of the Chinese economy, following a months-long shutdown in Shanghai, which underwent a full lockdown to quell the rising number of positive Covid cases there, the impact on global supply chains remains open-ended, with some industry stakeholders maintaining it will have a significant downstream impact on United States-bound import patterns and others thinking the impact will not be as bad as some expect.

The Port of Long Beach has completed its best ever first quarter, with marine terminals handling almost 1.9 million TEUs January through March, while LA and Oakland had Lunar New Year slump

John Wolfe, CEO of The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) sat down with Logistics Management editors.

2016 saw U.S. West Coast ports increase their collective share of containerized trade through seaports on the U.S. mainland.

The organizations said in a joint statement that talks have been tentatively scheduled for November 1-2. The current contract between the parties runs through June 30, 2019.

National Retail Federation is leading a coalition of more than 100 groups in sending specific recommendations to the Department of Transportation

Newsroom Notes provides a few of the key stories, trends, and themes of 2015, a year that was far from dull in the supply chain, logistics, and freight transportation sectors.

Following the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) signing off on ratifying a new five-year contract with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) on May 20, the ILWU followed suite on May 22, saying that 82 percent of its longshore worker members voted to ratify the tentative contract agreement between the parties that was reached on February 22.

While the dust continues to settle at West Coast ports after a nine-month labor dispute that saw the two main parties involved–the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union–reach a tentative labor agreement on February 22, the PMA said yesterday that its members voted to ratify a new contract with the ILWU.

In 2002, I spoke at a supply chain forum for Presidents and CEOs. Since there was a labor dispute going on at the ports on the west coast at the time, I asked a hypothetical question: “What would happen if the west coast ports shut down, and you were not able to get products delivered in a timely manner?” Thirteen years later, this hypothetical question has become a reality for many companies.

Port of Oakland cargo volume declined dramatically in January, the result of an ongoing West Coast waterfront labor dispute.