1213 Words 5 minute read – let’s do this!
Welcome back everyone! I hope everyone had a very well rested holiday break. Not too many exciting events have taken place in the market over the past couple weeks, other than weather pains, we had a relatively calm start to the New Year this week. I hope everyone is successful with their 2023 New Year’s resolutions – Fun Fact: 43% of all people expect to give up on their resolutions before February, and almost one out of four quit within the first week of setting their New Year’s resolution. Most people quit before the end of January, and only 9% see their resolutions through until succession. 9% successfully keep their New Year’s resolutions. Moral of the story: don’t beat yourself up, we are only human and we only have one life to live. Do what makes you happy!
Savannah is rockin’. It is the “it” port right now. So many cool things are happening and we have plenty of trucks, drivers, and a warehouse team ready to take all your inbound and outbound Savannah containers and large project cargo – and don’t forget we have a secured yard to store containers and a team of skilled professionals available to answer any questions you might have.
Savannah currently has the fastest-growing port in the country, and state leaders are taking steps to ensure it stays that way. The Georgia Department of Transportation is considering making some changes to the nearby Talmadge Bridge to ensure port traffic keeps flowing smoothly. While the 31-year-old bridge is structurally sound, and isn’t tall enough to accommodate larger cargo ships. The Talmadge Bridge is a hindrance from the Georgia Ports bringing in commerce on larger ships,” Chatham County Chairman Chester Ellis told WJCL 22 News. “There are larger shipping companies who would love to call on the Port of Savannah.” Right now, the clearance for the Talmadge Bridge is 185 feet. While the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has already dredged the Savannah River in order to make it deeper for larger ships, we’re told that is just the beginning of the work that needs to be done.
Researchers are projecting positive growth for Georgia’s Port of Savannah, even through the recession. The gateway for both raw materials and finished goods into the United States is still mainly through the ports and East Coast ports such as Savannah’s may fare better than their West Coast counterparts, where ongoing labor negotiations remain unresolved. 2023 could be a pivotal year for the Port of Savannah — the nation’s fourth-busiest — as it plans a $410 million revamp to double down on container cargo, while offloading breakbulk cargo operations to the Port of Brunswick. The Georgia Ports Authority board approved the project in early December, a plan to expand Savannah’s capacity for cargo containers by more than 50% by 2025. It means major changes for the port’s Ocean Terminal, which currently handles most of Georgia’s breakbulk cargo such as lumber, paper and steel. The Ocean Terminal will be upgraded with new berths and eight ship-to-shore cranes, allowing the complex to focus almost exclusively on cargo shipped in containers.
The ocean import market is back to the old days. TEU volumes decreased 26.8% this week from last week which is expected after the holidays. Winter weather is well under way – The past couple weeks have brought storms in with various types and levels of precipitation stopping travel completely through many states over the holiday weeks. The Gulf states have winter fog affecting the Gulf ports vessel arrivals and congestion.
What is going on at the ports this week?
Houston: Chassis shortages have been improving over the past few months and more chassis are now available. Congestion has improved over the past few weeks but as of recent crane operations have slowed down due to labor shortage. Drivers are waiting on average an hour to an hour and a half. Winter weather has brought upon fog within the gulf, fog causes the port to slow down working the vessels (2-3 days per vessel) and causes other boats to have to wait at anchor. When tracking vessel eta’s in the port system we have been seeing them get pushed back anywhere from 1-3 days. We have experienced vessel fog delays this week in Houston and it can affect capacity in the coming weeks. There are currently 104 cargo vessels arriving by tomorrow so congestion may be an issue into next week
Mobile: A slight 40’ port chassis shortage currently, 20’ chassis are available, and we have plenty of privately owned chassis available. Congestion and wait times both vary greatly depending on volume of incoming vessels and weather at port. There is a labor shortage at the port, operators are used for loading trucks and shifting incoming containers when released so it slows down processes. The recent “IT system upgrade” in Mobile caused a ripple effect, there has been severe delays and mishaps from October through December but are being resolved and we hope to see improved turn times at the port next week, bit only time will tell
New Orleans: Chassis shortages continue this week, 40’ chassis are almost nonexistent. There are currently 62 vessels expected to arrive through the weekend, early capacity planning will be best at New Orleans over the next few weeks
Los Angeles: The LA and Long Beach Ports were booted to number 3 port for the last quarter of 2022 with the main reason being moving trade away from the West Coast to the East and Gulf Port coasts due to the threat of an ILWU strike. About 40% of shippers cited both California’s AB5 “gig worker” law, which concerns the employment status of drivers, and rail delays. The ILWU has not yet put together a new contract, but it is a story we will continue to follow. There are no current congestion or chassis issues at any of the terminals, but LA/LGB are still appointment terminals for full and end empty pickups and returns and there are labor shortages at most US ports. Will we ever go back to the way it was? I have a feeling 2023 will bring that to light
Did you know? There is a party in the L-B-C – We are going to be at TPM 2023! We have so many cool things for you to see and experience, our marketing team is putting together something awesome for you. Join in the fun and meet the Port X Logistics team, and our celebrity founder BK. Turvo Tom will be providing demos for our platform and you can catch a live Tea with Tessie. Stop by and say hi and reach out to the marketing team if you are interested in joining any of the Port X Logistics events to be planned (marketing@portxlogistics.com) from February 26th – March 1st. More details to come in the next coming weeks so subscribe to all the PXL social media pages for the most up to date updates.
Contact the leadership team via letsgetrolling@portxlogistics.com.
~Jill Rice
Import Volume Charts
