1367 words 4 minute read – Let’s do this!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing and fattening holiday – much earned by all of us in the industry. What are your fun or unique Thanksgiving traditions? We want to know! Give us a Linkedin follow and drop us a comment of the cool ways you spend Thanksgiving and you will be in the running for an extra special holiday edition PXL swag box. If you were thinking I had a really awesome tradition to share – well I kinda don’t. I am just happy to get a day of rest and to be a part of cooking a real meal, and eating a lot of dessert – that is just perfect enough for me.
Here are fun Turkey facts for 2023: 46 million: Number of turkeys expected to be consumed on Thanksgiving Day. 293 million: Number of Americans likely to be eating a turkey dinner. This year, Americans will spend an estimated $1.28 billion on festive fowls, a slight increase of roughly $16 million from the $1.27 billion paid for Thanksgiving turkeys in 2022. Ok, maybe not such a fun fact but it definitely points out the increase of food prices this year.
The massive Panama Canal drought continues and container vessel transit restrictions are still being enforced. These restrictions, which effectively reduce the maximum stowage capacity of larger vessels and limit the overall number of transits, will likely force carriers to alter networks as they try to push higher costs onto shippers. The canal first began restricting daily transits in July and said it will ease them when water levels rise. Panama’s rainy season is historically in April and May. Unless there is a major increase in rainfall, the soonest the Panama Canal Authority says it could see significant relief is 2028, and that’s if the government of Panama course-corrects after years of underinvestment and supports $2 billion in investment to build a new reservoir and more pipelines. Container lines are urging the government to act. Current and past canal administrators, in consultation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, have stressed the need for investment to protect the water basin to avoid under utilization of the waterway. Draft limits are reducing the capacity of container ships transiting the canal by approximately 20% across all size classes, said Michael Kristiansen, president of Panama-based consultancy CK Americas. Larger vessels lose approximately 350 TEUs of capacity for each foot of draft lost; with draft now limited to 44 feet, down from the designed 50 feet, larger ships must forgo about 2,100 TEUs of otherwise usable space. Concerns over the restrictions — and shipper complaints over a lack of service reliability have container lines shifting away from The Panama Canal and considering other routings via the Suez Canal and The Port of Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico or rerouting to the Pacific Coast Ports. Carriers could also adjust services to send more cargo from South Asia through the Suez Canal, though it would add distance for some origins, Kristiansen said. The US East Coast is approximately 2,200 nautical miles farther from Shanghai via the Suez Canal than via the Panama Canal routing.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) said Monday that 64% of workers at the Detroit Three automakers voted to ratify new record contracts after a six-week targeted strike. The votes lock in the UAW’s tentative agreements with the automakers through April 2028, which include a 25% increase in base wages and will cumulatively raise the top wage by 33%, compounded with estimated cost-of-living adjustments to over $42 an hour. It also cuts the number of years needed to get to top pay from eight years to three years, will boost the pay of temporary workers by 150% and make them permanent employees. According to UAW President Shawn Fain, the UAW is getting expressions of interest in organizing from many Tesla workers. It will be very interesting to see what happens in 2024 – increase in auto prices? Tesla strike?…
Import TEU volumes are down this week from last week 72.19%, which is largely skewed being a day early and a short week due to the holiday. Next week will be more fitting but expect lower volumes still from port closures from both U.S. Veteran’s Day and Thanksgiving holidays.
Black Friday is also upon us! I mean let’s get real – that is the most important part of the Thanksgiving holiday. It has been reported that U.S. citizens have been spending less this year which could be helping to pave the way to some really good Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. The mad rush of the holiday season and year end delivery targets have more shippers needing to ship cargo via air freight. With the urgency of airfreight comes the headache of finding the perfect domestic delivery solutions – and the perfect solution is called Carrier911. The Port X Logistics Carrier911 team has access to cargo vans, straight trucks, dry vans and more and will have a rate to you quickly and a truck on site for pickup in most cases within an hour of dispatch. Our Carrier911 team will manage your entire shipment from pickup to proof of delivery, and provide you with a shareable tracking link to share with your customer – no shipment babysitting even needed! Contact info@carrier911.com 24/7/365 – it will seem impossible, until you see it for yourself.
What’s happening at the ports and rails?:
REMINDER Thursday November 23rd is observed for the U.S. Thanksgiving Holiday and most ports and some railheads will be closed on one or more of these days.
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 – click on the link below
Click Here for Weekly Port & Rail Updates
Houston: Houston ports have been slow moving this week with slight congestion that can trickle into the weekend and next week. Some drivers have reported wait times of over 2 hours. Don’t fear post-holiday congestion and come to Port X Logistics instead. We have 40 trucks, open yard space, and a full-service warehouse that can handle heavy and complicated transloads – we even have 23 trucks in Dallas for your Dallas drayage needs! Contact letsgetrolling@portxlogistics.com to book with us today!
Vessels currently in port: 323 Expected Arrivals: 141
Seattle/Tacoma: Seattle import volumes are down this week, but with the upcoming port closures reduced congestion may not be a guarantee. Our Seattle operation is operating at full capacity for drayage and transloading – our 35 trucks, yard space, and a very clean and pretty transloading warehouse (including specialized equipment) will get the job done. Have any upcoming drayage, transloading or storage projects for containers coming into SEA/TAC? We want to offer great rates in the SEA/TAC area – want to learn more? Email letsgetrolling@portxlogistics.com
Vessels currently in Port Seattle: 441 Expected Arrivals: 31
Vessels currently in Port Tacoma: 89 Expected Arrivals: 18
Chicago: With the port and rail closures this week, be on the lookout for rail dwells backups and possible congestion into next week, and plan ahead of the game – With us! Our Chicago team has 80 trucks, open yard space and a wide range of specialized chassis and equipment to handle your overweight and most troublesome containers. We have plenty of capacity through the holiday and next week and are welcoming all volume projects. Contact Danny and the team at letsgetrolling@portxlogistics.com
Did you know? Port X Logistics can move your project cargo! Whether it’s out of gauge flat racks, open tops or oversized heavy haul and breakbulk, we can handle it at all ports in the U.S. and Canada. Let us help formulate a plan from start to finish, even including a team on site to load or unload. Contact Jill and Ryan at letsgetrolling@portxlogistics.com to experience the best!
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