1119 words 4 minute read – Let’s do this!
So did everyone win big on Superbowl squares and bets? I confess, I fell asleep after half time, it was a pretty boring game – but congrats to our Kansas City office, did you know we have 59 trucks, yard space, and transloading (58 acres and equipped with lift capabilities)? – If you have drayage needs in Kansas City we got you covered, contact letsgetrolling@portxlogistics.com for more information, rates and capacity. And tune into the 2024 football season, it is already a pretty heated intra – Port X Logistics battle between Buffalo and Kansas City!
There are some improvements to the Panama Canal water levels and some carriers are resuming transits through the canal. Hapag-Lloyd said THE Alliance restored transits through the canal on some of its trans-Pacific to US East Coast EC2 services from January. One- Line (ONE) stated in a customer advisory last week, that due to the improving situation at the canal, other services are also being considered for a resumption of Panama transits and said it was ending its Panama Canal contingency surcharge on U.S. and Canadian exports “due to operation improvements within the canal.” THE Alliance has also increasingly switched its EC6 service back to using the canal rather than via the Cape of Good Hope, although “a final decision is still made on a case-by-case basis depending on available vessel bookings through the canal”, a Hapag-Lloyd spokesperson stated. Carriers are also adding additional services to alleviate disruptions caused by the Panama Canal droughts. ONE launched a temporary biweekly Caribbean Express 7 (CX7) service linking Cartegena, Savannah and Charleston “to ensure cargo shipping” between Latin America and the U.S. East Coast to minimize disruption caused by the canal delays and also expanded its Florida-Latin Express service, which links the West Coast of South America via the Panama Canal, to include the U.S. East Coast ports of New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk from the end of January.
CMA CGM is adding a ninth vessel to its Medcaribe service linking the Mediterranean and the northwest coast of South America from early March to “provide a greater buffer to overcome operational contingencies, including port congestion.”
However, a disruption warning comes to East and Gulf Coasts this year with the pending International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Union contract that covers all 45,000 longshore workers throughout East and Gulf Ports which expires September 30th. The National Retail Federation (NRF) is urging that both the ILA and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) return to the bargaining table as soon as possible to resume negotiations that have been on hold for months, to avoid any possible disruptions. The ILA is also involved in a 3-year legal battle with ocean carriers over the use of Port of Charleston’s Leatherman Terminal, which also employs non-union government workers on cranes and lift equipment. In the coming weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether it will hear a case about the ILA’s right to sue ocean carriers that call Leatherman. Ahead of that decision, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said he aims to block any further expansion of union membership within the state. Calling out the ILA in his State of the State address in January, McMaster called union labor a “broader threat to current and future prosperity.” The ILA said in a statement that unionized workers receive higher median wages and benefits than non-union employees and that McMaster is looking to “prevent South Carolina workers from being paid fairly for their work.”
Import TEUs are up 4.24% this week from last, the heaviest volume this week arriving into Newark 15.6% of incoming TEU volume, Long Beach 15.5% of incoming TEU volume and Los Angeles 13.3% of incoming TEU volume. This past week was a short week at the ports and this upcoming week is also a short week with ILA holidays Lincoln’s Birthday and President’s Day respectively. Factory and Port workers in China will be also returning back to work next week as the Lunar New Year holiday comes to a close.
What’s happening at the ports and rails?:
You can find all the information on the below link where we cover port congestion, chassis issues and capacity lead times weekly at all U.S. and Canada Ports and rail heads on our website
https://portxlogistics.com/port-rail-updates/
Houston: Currently experiencing up to 2 days waiting time for vessel berthing at Barbours Cut terminal and 3 days at Bayport Container Terminal. Inclement weather in the Gulf of Mexico continues to cause closures at ports south of Houston and delays on arrival, on short notice. Average gate turn times at Barbours Cut Container Terminal are 42 / 48 minutes at Bayport Container Terminal. BOTH BAYPORT AND BARBOURS CUT WILL BE OPEN FOR PRESIDENTS DAY. The Houston weather may be bad but we have good news! Port X Logistics has drayage assets in Houston with the capability of long-haul drayage and we have a transload warehouse in LaPorte that can transload anything from standard pallets, to heavy lumber and industrial coils. If you need help in the Houston area we got your back, contact letsgetrolling@portxlogistics.com
Denver: There is a chassis shortage at the new BNSF Hudson, CO causing delay in container grounding. Don’t let your BNSF containers delay any longer – we have a wide range of drayage capacity in Denver and would love to keep our drivers busy. We also have a transload warehouse on site at our yard, available yard space and we can do local dry van deliveries. Contact the Denver team for great rates and drayage capacity that is available asap! Denver@portxlogistics.com
Seattle/Tacoma: Washington United Terminal (WUT) Has been experiencing longer than normal wait times due to more crunch down with U.S. Customs inspecting all incoming containers. Our Seattle team has unlimited drayage capacity: 35 trucks, yard space, and transloading (including specialized equipment). Do you want to experience “Seattle’s Best” drayage and warehousing?
Contact letsgetrolling@portxlogistics.com We got you covered!
Did you know? The Superbowl of the shipping world TPM2024 is only 3 short weeks away and we are very excited for what is in store for this year. Our Port X Logistics Brand Ambassadors will be available for onsite meetings and daily demonstrations of our technology are available at our booth located outside right between the Convention Center and the Hyatt. We have spots open for lunch and dinner meetings and helicopter rides that tour the Port. If you are interested in meeting with the team contact marketing@portxlogistics.com
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