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ILWU/PMA Sign Tentative Coastwide Agreement while Canada Bottlenecks

On February 20, 2015, negotiators for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) announced a tentative five-year coastwide contract agreement.  Details of the contract are not yet available since membership of both groups must vote to ratify the agreement; a process that could take several weeks.  In the meantime, […]

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Vancouver / West Coast Labor Strike Updates

Vancouver Late on February 16th, 2015, an agreement was reached between the Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway and union locomotive representatives to enter into binding government arbitration.  The short lived strike that began Sunday is now officially over. Movement of rail cargo is expected to resume as of this morning. CP announced the federal government would […]

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Canadian Pacific Railway Could Face Weekend Strike

On Wednesday, February 11, 2015, the Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway announced that the union representing more than 3,000 of its locomotive engineers and conductors presented a strike notice for this upcoming weekend.  CP, Canada’s second largest railway, responded by advising that its managers will be ready to take over if workers walk off the job. […]

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PMA Suspends West Coast Vessel Operations during Holiday Weekend

The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) announced the shutdown of vessel operations starting today, Thursday, February 12 (Lincoln’s Birthday), in addition to Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (Washington’s Birthday) to avoid paying longshoremen holiday or weekend pay for slow productivity that is crippling West Coast ports. While gate, rail, and yard operations will remain open per terminal operators’ […]

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Arbitration Stalls West Coast ILWU/PMA Contract Negotiations

While vessels idle offshore waiting to deliver commerce to U.S. West Coast ports, all eyes are on the contract battle between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).  On Wednesday, February 4, 2015, James McKenna, PMA’s President and CEO, released details of a comprehensive offer in an attempt to […]

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Empty Cargo Container Shortage Threatens China Import Trade

Despite a glimmer of hope this week in the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) negotiations on the West Coast, the beleaguered West Coast import trade community is facing yet another serious crisis.  There is a growing shortage of empty containers in China to carry the unexpected high volume of […]

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Ports Announce Closures in Anticipation of Winter Weather

The NY & NJ Port Authority has released a winter weather advisory announcing that all New York and New Jersey marine terminals will close today, Monday, January 26, by 3:00 PM and remain closed Tuesday, January 27, in anticipation of winter storm Juno.  The port will make an announcement about port operations for Wednesday, January […]

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West Coast Ports Faced with Possible Lockout as Backups Mount

The shipping industry made a collective sigh of relief as word came on January 5th that Federal Mediators were being brought in to help the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) to reach a labor settlement.  Unfortunately, even with mediator assistance, no reported progress had been made.  In fact, […]

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ILWU Joins PMA in Requesting Federal Mediation

On January 5, 2015, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) joined the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) in their request to bring in federal mediation to resolve contract negotiations.  This announcement comes after eight months of the ILWU working without a contract, stalled talks between the two groups, high tensions, and rising congestion along the […]

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Low Sulfur Surcharge in Effect for 2015

Stemming from a 2012 global treaty agreement to reduce sulfuric emissions along the U.S. and Canadian coastlines, carriers will begin the implementation of a Low Sulfur Surcharge (LSS) starting January 1, 2015.  The new regulation requires shipping lines to burn low-sulfur diesel fuel within the designated Emission Control Areas (ECA) and to modify vessel fuel systems […]

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G6 Alliance Halts Los Angeles Port Call

The G6 alliance announced late last week the removal of its eastbound Los Angeles port of call from their Pacific Atlantic 1 service (PA1) from rotation citing severe US West Coast port congestion.  The G6 alliance of carriers includes:  Hapag-Lloyd (who announced their merger with CSAV), NYK, APL, OOCL, MOL and Hyundai Merchant Marine.  Hapag-Lloyd’s […]

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Port Congestion Surcharge

Multiple carriers have begun announcing the implementation of port congestion fees.  Many carriers filed this surcharge in their tariffs as protection against increased operating costs associated with extreme congestion at terminals.  With the ILWU contract still not settled and mounting congestion and delays not only in Los Angeles/Long Beach but also in the Pacific Northwest, […]

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Carriers Postpone Port Congestion Surcharges (Again) Until Further Notice

The port congestion surcharge (PCS) that has been threatening West Coast trade since mid-November has once again been suspended until further notice.  Major carriers such as Maersk, Hapag Lloyd, Evergreen, NYK, OOCL, and CMA-CGM sent out notification today, November 26, 2014, announcing the postponement.  The congestion charge, originally implemented on November 14, has been on […]

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Carriers Reinstate West Coast Port Congestion Surcharge Amidst Delayed ILWU/PMA Labor Talks

Despite multiple attempts from the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) to convince the International Longshore Warehouse Union (ILWU) to resume “big table” negotiations, the ILWU has postponed talks until no sooner than December 2, 2014.  During this time, the union will be participating in subcommittee negotiations dealing mostly with local issues.  Neither the PMA nor the […]

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The FMC Rebuts Port Congestion Surcharges Imposed by Carriers

As we previously published on November 14, 2014, multiple carriers had announced the implementation of port congestion fees as protection against increased operating costs associated with extreme congestion at terminals.  On November 17, 2014, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) issued a statement noting that carriers cannot properly assess any congestion or other surcharges on cargo […]

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Deteriorating ILWU/PMA Negotiations Threaten West Coast Trade

Congestion at the terminals of Seattle, Tacoma, Los Angeles, and Long Beach continues to worsen as both the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) appear to be no closer to resolving their ongoing labor dispute.  The PMA issued a new statement yesterday alleging that the ILWU is withholding skilled labor, […]

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PMA accuses ILWU of causing slowdowns in Seattle, Tacoma

Both the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) issued conflicting statements yesterday regarding an alleged slow down by dock workers in the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.   The PMA alluded that the union was engaging in slowdown tactics at the terminals in order to put pressure on the ongoing negotiations […]

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Vessels Backed up for Days off the Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are experiencing higher than normal congestion.  According to a Journal of Commerce interview with executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, Capt. J. Kipling Louttit, cargo container ships are dropping anchor and waiting in line to be received at terminals.  “There’s usually zero wait times […]

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Severe Chassis and Labor Shortages Plague LA-Long Beach Port

The chassis and labor shortages in the Los Angeles/Long Beach Ports are causing truckers, and consequently shippers, considerable setbacks at the moment. Trucking companies in the area are facing an uphill battle on two fronts; not only there is a significant labor shortage on working the vessels at the docks, but there is also a major shortage of chassis required to handle the daily cargo volume.

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Port of Los Angeles Resumes Operations

Following a toxic fire of the Pasha terminal at Berth 177 in the Port of Los Angeles, which spurred air quality concerns from creosote covered wood, officials announced remaining terminals have resumed operations 6 p.m. Tuesday evening.  Nearby Yusen Terminals International announced they would reopen 8 a.m. Wednesday morning. The fire originally broke out at 6:40 p.m. […]

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