Disclaimer

The articles excerpted on this site report on the state of the industry as seen by mainstream media, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the officers of the ILWU Coast Longshore Division.

West Coast Container Trade on the Rise

West Coast ports handled 7 percent more loaded containers in March compared to the same month last year, according to numbers published on the Web site of the Pacific Maritime Association.

Containerized imports surged 11 percent year-over-year in March, partly because of the timely of the Chinese New Year celebration each year. The Lunar New [...]

Share

Experts Predict Busier Peak Season For San Pedro Bay Ports

Shipping industry experts and port officials predict a boost in cargo activity at the San Pedro Bay Ports this peak season, which typically runs from mid-summer to fall, in contrast to last year, which brought less-than-expected growth.

With retail sales up slightly and employment continuing to improve, the United States economy is leading a global [...]

Share

Busy Peak Shipping Season Forecast

The optimistic forecast for the coming year applies to all West Coast ports.

Transportation industry professionals who spoke Wednesday at the annual Pulse of the Port seminar sponsored by the Port of Long Beach agreed that peak-season 2012 will certainly be better than last year, and they indicated this could actually be a relatively strong [...]

Share

Rising containerized exports should lift Puget Sound ports

Agriculture exports make up more than half of the Port of Tacoma’s full containers. Potato exports rose 106% in 2011, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.

U.S. containerized exports hit a record 11.9 million 20-foot containerized units in 2011, with the ports of Seattle and Tacoma together accounting for 29 percent of the total.

[...]

Share

L.A., Long Beach ports complex posts best January since recession

The L.A. Times reports that, ‘Combined, the two ports moved 1.16 million containers in January, up from 1.14 million a year earlier. It was the best showing since the ports handled 1.17 million containers in January 2008.’

The nation’s busiest seaport complex had its best January since the recession because of a weak dollar, [...]

Share

Container Imports Rose 3 Percent in 2011

Rising shipments of auto parts and recovering demand for furniture pushed U.S. containerized imports up 2.4 percent in December, capping a year in which volumes increased 3 percent.

December’s increase followed a 5.2 percent year-over gain in November. Imports in the fourth quarter increased 1.5 percent year-over-year. Eastbound trans-Pacific imports fell 0.9 percent in the [...]

Share

Port of Tacoma container business shows slight increase

The Port of Tacoma’s dominant business eked out an increase last year, new statistics show, but that business volume remains far below its pre-recession highs.

The port’s terminals handled 1,488,799 cargo container units last year, figures released by the port this week show. That’s 2.3 percent above the 1,455,466 the port saw in 2010.

[...]

Share

California to set new record for exports in 2011

California’s exporters are expected to have a record year in 2011, surpassing the old mark set during 2008.

With December numbers still to be tallied, the state exported another $14.07 billion in goods in November, according to Beacon Economics’ monthly California Trade Report. That was a gain of 12.7% over the same month the previous [...]

Share

Maersk calls ports to the table

Describing 2009 as “a year we would rather forget”, Lars Oestergaard Nielsen, managing director UAE, Qatar, Oman & Iran, Maersk Line has called on the ports industry to help it level out peaks and troughs.

“2009 for Maersk Line was the worst year we have ever had and 2010 was the best – that is [...]

Share

Port of Tacoma container business up in September

The Port of Tacoma’s seesaw container business numbers were up again in September after falling in August. … While the container business remains irregular, several of the port’s other business lines are doing well.

The breakbulk business is up 66.7 percent for the year. The auto business is 50.7 percent higher than last year. Log [...]

Share

California exports improve for 19th month

Port of Long Beach

California’s export business remains a bright spot in the economy even as fear rises that the nation’s “economic recovery may be sputtering,” Beacon Economics LLC has reported.

Golden State exporters enjoyed their 19th consecutive month of healthy year-over gains in May, according to the independent economic research and consulting firm, [...]

Share

Moody’s Sees Negative Shipping Outlook

Moody’s Investors Service set a negative outlook for the shipping industry over the next 12 to 18 months, saying the business from container carriers to bulk operators is facing overcapacity.

The dry bulk sector will likely be hit hardest this year because the segment’s order book equals nearly half of the current capacity, with [...]

Share

Port Tracker Forecasts Shipping Pickup This Fall

Stronger increases are expected to return in September as retailers begin to stock up for the holiday season, with volume forecast at 1.47 million TEUs, up 10 percent from last year. October is forecast at 1.53 million TEUs, up 18 percent, and November at 1.41 million TEUs, up 19 percent.

The first half of 2011 [...]

Share

Maersk rival CMA CGM sees 2011 profitable -report

French privately held shipping company CMA CGM expects to stay in the black this year despite pressure on freight rates and is preparing to resume investing in new vessels, shipping newspaper Lloyd’s List said.

Some analysts are forecasting that the container shipping industry’s combined results will be negative in 2011 as supply growth outpaces demand, [...]

Share

West Coast Container Traffic Up 5 Percent

U.S. West Coast ports registered a modest increase of 5 percent in total loaded containers during the first six months of 2011 compared to the same period last year.

Export growth exceeded growth in imports, with exports up 9 percent and imports increasing 3 percent, according to statistics released Monday by the Pacific Maritime Association.

[...]

Share