Picture Credit: SCPA/Walter Lagarenne
991 Words 5 minute read – let’s do this!
I’m here living life in the Southeast this week, and I am loving it. Even with rain falling on my drive back to Savannah from Charleston it has been a nice mini break from the Buffalo snow. While driving I had a ton of text messages about yesterday’s U.S. current events: Additional economic damage and fuel price spikes could be in store for at least the first quarter of 2023 with just 5 days of January remaining and one twelfth of the year is over. The market is still slow and the ports are still not too busy, but the down time could help with improving the structure, growth and cleanups within some of the crucial U.S. ports that have a bright future ahead.
I got a nice “future of the market” pep talk from one of the Stevedore’s I visited in Charleston. Hopes of more project cargo volume coming into the Southeast much of cargo reflects the future of the auto industry. Port X Logistics handles all things EV Battery related, whether you are looking for hazmat transload warehouses or a team to help you streamline your EV Battery cargo shipping plans, we can help. Experience EV is EZ https://www.linkedin.com/company/ev-is-ez/and contact the team for more information at letsgetrolling@portxlogistics.com.
South Carolina Ports had a record 2022 with the most containers ever handled at the Port of Charleston. Over the course of the year, SC Ports moved almost 2.8 million TEUs (a 1.5% increase from 2021). In the last few years the port has invested upwards of $2 billion into infrastructure to ensure they can keep up with the state’s market. With a combination of port funding and state funding, SC Ports will spend an additional $2.5 billion over the next 10 years to continue this infrastructure development even further.
Construction is currently underway on the ports’ Navy Base Intermodal Facility. This modern cargo yard in North Charleston will be rail-served by multiple Railways (CSX, Norfolk Southern, and Palmetto). The intention is to make South Carolina a bigger competitive player as an import gateway to the U.S. by creating this near-dock rail in Charleston. https://loom.ly/0aFXzN8
Import TEU volumes have increased 20.71% from last week, we will always love an uptick in volume. Lunar New Year shutdowns will reopen by February 5th and could affect incoming volumes and export blank sailings over the next couple weeks. There is a slight fuel increase this week, the first one for a while, US diesel price per gallon went up to $4.604 per gallon. Will the war with Russia cause the fuel increase to be a trend for the US for the next few months?
What is going on at the ports this week?
Houston: Vessels coming into Barbours Cut are at bay for days waiting to berth and once they berth it has been taking 2-4 days for them to leave once they arrive. This is due to the BCT cranes being down: 310 – back up to be determined and 3- back up 1/23. Bayport is flowing nicely with no wait time. The unthinkable has happened: there are too many chassis in the Houston market at the moment and they are not even accepting chassis back at a few depots due to them having so many in stock. Capacity is good, but still seeing delays in Houston this week due to labor restrictions, with that said: Currently there is a pretty severe storm in Houston which could be impacting some loads. Flooding is a big concern and could affect capacity into the next few weeks.
Norfolk: Chassis availability is finally up to par and The Port of Norfolk has done a solid job in the last 3 years completely replacing it’s aging SSL owned chassis fleets. There is no Congestion, but there are times where appointment availability is a challenge at the Virginia International Gateway…but every other terminal is running smoother than the Holidays with my family. We are ready to move all of your freight in Norfolk!
Seattle/Tacoma: Volumes in SEA/TAC have dropped significantly last quarter and through January of 2023. Capacity and chassis are abundant and wait times are a non issue. We also can service all your transloads into and out of the SEA/TAC ports and all of the west coast.
Oakland: Due to a decrease in vessels and volumes, the hours of operations for SSA/OICT are changing – effective February 6, 2023 the OICT night gate will be temporarily changing its hours. The new night gate hours are Monday – Wednesday, 1800-0300. Also the first receiving of trucks into OICT on the dayshift will begin at 0800 on February 6, 2023 as well. This will allow them to maintain the $35 gate fee without having to increase the cost and still offer night gate opportunities.
Did you know? There are exactly 30 days until the PXL team rolls into Long Beach to start the TPM festivities. Come and be our guest on the party boat Sunday February 26th – We will have a DJ, cocktails and treats while we unwind to prepare for the busy week ahead. If you are interested in attending the boat cruise please contact our marketing team at marketing@portxlogistics.com – limited spots are available. If you are unable to make it to the cruise, we have a booth outside this year geared up with lots of fun, Port X Logistics team members, demos, raffles and a cool chill space to relax – follow our linked in page for more details and see you soon!
Check the blog at CHANGE for the Port X Logistics weekly import volume charts or contact the leadership team via letsgetrolling@portxlogistics.com.
~ Jill Rice
Import Volume Charts
