Ocean Freight

Shippers now need to reconsider how they position operations in a changing ocean market, how to plan and secure capacity, and how to develop long-term relationships with the most reliable ocean carriers. These are discussions focused on balanced, mutual commitments from all parties in an effort to mitigate future shipping chaos.

This follows previous joint announcements by POLA and POLB, whom collectively account for roughly 40% of United States-bound import volumes.

ILWU and PMA said that the tentative agreement is subject to agreement on the other issues in the negotiations.

The protests were in response to the United States Supreme Court’s having denied review—or Certiorari—of the Circuit’s reversal against the injunction of AB5 (Assembly Bill 5) in California, a law governing owner-operators that potentially could be very disruptive to trucking operations in the nation’s most populous state.

Going back to when the fee was initially rolled out on October 25, 2021, POLA and POLB said that the ports have seen a cumulative 26% decline in the amount of aging cargo on their docks, a tally which has trended up going back to the initial announcement of this fee.

The ongoing trucker protests in recent days over the implementation of AB5 are taking a toll on operations at the Port of Oakland. The protests are in response to the United States Supreme Court’s having denied review—or Certiorari—of the Circuit’s reversal against the injunction of AB5 (Assembly Bill 5) in California, a law governing owner-operators that potentially could be very disruptive to trucking operations in the nation’s most populous state.

The trio of strong consumer demand, ongoing supply chain bottlenecks, and tight carrier capacity worked in tandem to drive air, ground, and ocean transportation rates to all-time highs in 2021, with shippers turning to third-party logistics (3PL) services providers on various fronts, including inventory replenishment and avoiding stock outs, according to a new report recently issued by Milwaukee-based supply chain consultancy Armstrong & Associates.

Company officials said that this facility, which it said is strategically located, will support the Los Angeles and Long Beach area, with various services, including port drayage and transloading, coupled with “quick access” to both outbound rail and highway transport, and also work in tandem with its recently rolled out plan to help shippers expedite overseas freight delivery in a long-term multi-vessel service agreement.

Total June POLA volume—at 876,111 TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—edged out June 2021 by 0.02%, for the highest-volume June in the port’s 115 years of operations, and total Port of Long Beach volume—at 835,412 TEU—saw a 15.3% annual increase, topping June 2018’ by 83,224 TEU, as the new POLB June high.

This follows previous joint announcements by POLA and POLB, whom collectively account for roughly 40% of United States-bound import volumes, indicating that consideration of the fee would be pushed back each week going back to the week of November 22, 2021.

For May, the most recent month for which data is available, import volume—at 2.4 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units)—increased 6% compared to April and was up 2.7% annually. What’s more, this tally represents a new monthly import record, going back to when NRF initially began tracking imports, coming in ahead of the previous record, of 2.34 million TEU, set in March.

Even though the current contract has expired, the ILWU and PMA said on July 1 that negotiations on a new deal will continue to move forward.

Anyone who thinks he or she has an accurate feel for what the peak shipping season will look like between now until around Halloween clearly has not been paying attention to the wacky ups-and-downs of the past two years. First came the economic shutdown induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Then came an overheated economic rebound that taxed the limits of production of items ranging from toilet paper to computer semiconductor chips. Now the nation faces at least a one-in-three chance...

Ocean shipping continues its rough passage

This follows previous joint announcements by POLA and POLB, whom collectively account for roughly 40% of United States-bound import volumes, indicating that consideration of the fee would be pushed back each week going back to the week of November 22, 2021.