Excerpts from the Lewiston Tribune:
Westwood Shipping [made] its last call on the Port of Portland Saturday. It was the only container carrier that stopped regularly at the Oregon port and carried a fraction of the volume major shippers hauled. The last of those, Hapag-Lloyd, departed a year ago.
Low rates and overcapacity in the container vessel industry, not labor/management conflicts, were the reasons behind Westwood Shipping’s withdrawal, according to Jennifer Sargent Bokaie, a spokeswoman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
“Longshore workers are continuing to work on auto ships, bulk cargo and other terminals at the Port of Portland,” she said in an email.
“Container rates on vessels are at an all-time low,” Lewiston Port Manager David Doeringsfeld said. “It’s good for the shipper and bad for the steamship lines. They’re having to consolidate services where they can to save on costs.”