Competitive Edge
June 8th, 2022
Stay Current with Interlog’s Weekly Newsletter:
Headlines
- Maersk announced Monday, June 6, its Performance Team will open a roughly 168,000-square-foot cold storage facility in Dayton, New Jersey, this upcoming October, Freight Waves reports. The ocean carrier aims to add more cold chain capacity to serve the New York-New Jersey area demand for imports and exports of commodities such as fish, poultry, beef, pork, fruits, and vegetables.
- The American Journal of Transportation reports that the Ports of Indiana-Jeffersonville have just wrapped up their $24 million infrastructure projects. Such projects have enhanced and overhauled the ports’ railroad infrastructure and intermodal capabilities.
UPDATE: U.S./Canada Ports – Number of Vessels at Anchor as of 06-07-22
- Vancouver: 24 Vessels at Anchor (-1)
- Savannah: 18 Vessels at Anchor (-2)
- New York/Newark: 16 Vessels at Anchor (-2)
- Houston: 20 Vessels at Anchor (+7)
- Los Angeles/Long Beach: 10 Vessels at Anchor (-2)
- San Francisco/Oakland: 9 Vessels at Anchor (-1)
- Charleston: 0 Vessels at Anchor (-2)
Note: This does not include vessels moored and being unloaded at port docks.
Courtesy: MarineTraffic
IMPORT: Asia to North America (TPEB)
Recent Developments:
- Shanghai has reopened after its two-month Covid-related lockdown. All businesses in the city have resumed work June 1, including manufacturing, production, and warehousing.
- From Triple Eagle (Group) Ltd., manufacturing and production in the city will take “some time” before returning to normal operations. See below for more information.
- Demand remains softened in large part due to China’s ongoing Covid situation.
- Uncertainty on a timeframe of when a new contract between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) will be agreed on has to led to shippers flocking to the USEC and Canadian ports.
Rates: Rates remain relatively elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels, with exceptions to USWC-bound sailings (which have seen some alleviation in rates).
Space: In general, space has opened up in result of China’s Covid-related restrictions, particularly FAK (Freight-of-all-kinds) space on services calling from Shanghai.
Capacity: Capacity has also seen some softening due to China’s Covid-related restrictions. However, as more shippers shift to the USEC, capacity has also tightened in pockets.
Equipment: Intermodal systems are still stressed with truck and chassis availability remaining dire.
TIPS: Book at least 3 weeks prior to CRD. Strongly consider premium service and alternative routings. Additionally, be in close contact with suppliers to check up on any Covid-related developments that can affect production.
IMPORT: Europe to North America (TAWB)
Recent Developments:
- USWC ports remain congested. However, wait times for vessels have vastly improved. In some cases, wait times have cut down to even 10 days at Los Angeles/Long Beach ports.
- On the USEC, the ports of Savannah and New York/Newark are both experiencing considerable congestion.
- Conversely, the Port of Charleston has sustained improvements to its operations and has enjoyed minimal congestion.
Rates: Rates are expected to stay elevated throughout June.
Space: Space remains critical for USEC and USWC. However, there have been glimpses of improvements.
Capacity: Capacity for both North Europe and Mediterranean services remain gripped.
Equipment: Equipment remains available at European seaports. However, inland terminals in Europe are still reporting equipment shortages.
TIPS: Book 5 or more weeks prior to CRD. Shippers are strongly advised to use premium service for no-roll options and improved reliability for their cargo.
EXPORT: North America to Asia
Recent Developments:
- For the USEC, congestion remains considerable at New York/Newark and Savannah ports.
- Diminished schedule integrity continues to challenge post earliest return dates.
- Stifling vessel backlogs in Shanghai have led to increased occurrences of blank sailings.
- Vessel arrivals remain smooth for USWC POLs.
Rates: GRI activity (limited) announced for June.
Capacity: Available capacity remains fluid for USWC POLs.
Equipment: Truck and chassis availability remain causes for concern and has significantly contributed to congestion of the intermodal system and IPI origins.
TIPS: Book 4 to 5 weeks prior to ETD to secure equipment and vessel space.
Did You Know: Over $368 million in federal grants to help improve rail infrastructure have been announced
In an effort to help improve rail infrastructure in the U.S., the Biden Administration announced over $368 million in federal grants.
These grants will provide funding for 46 projects in 32 states (and the District of Columbia), which is the largest round of Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements grants (CRISIS).
Source: The Hill
Freight News
After two months, Shanghai has finally reopened: What you should know
Well, after two months of lockdowns, Shanghai has finally reopened. Many cases have continued to decline, restrictions in all major cities are being eased, and daily life is starting to return to normal.
It is important to note that manufacturing and consumption in the city will take some time to return to normal. With Shanghai warehouse operations resuming work on June 1st, drivers still need a negative NAT (nucleic acid test) report within 72 hours, health code and travel code when gating in warehouses, Triple Eagle Group says.
Regarding Air Freight: service and gateway operations stay normal, as air flights will recover gradually.
The Port of Shanghai: Congestion still remains at the port but is slowly normalizing. At the height of the lockdown, average wait times for tankers/bulkers/container ships at the Port were up to 66 hours, but now, waiting times have shortened to 28 hours, Container News reports. Additionally, in May, the amount of volume passing through the Port of Shanghai was 3.4096 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUS), which is a year-on-year decrease of 10 percent, the South China Morning Post reported.
The Port of Houston’s two container terminals will be open to truckers on Saturdays as the Port continues to deal with a wave of imports.
For at least the next six months, the Port Houston Authority will have the Bayport and Barbours Cut terminals be open from 8 am to 5 pm on Saturdays starting June 4th, as the port continues to deal with a surge of imports, the Journal of Commerce reports. The Port is unsure how many shippers would take part in the Saturday gate but anticipates the additional hours to be of benefit.
The Port of Houston has handled 604,123 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in imports through April this year, which is up 26.3 percent from the same period in 2021, the JOC reports.
Furthermore, the port stated the terminals will have a regular complement of longshore workers on Saturday, except for reduced staffing at the truck gates. The port also hope more drivers will use its express pass program on the weekends, which would reduce the need for gate workers, the JOC reports.
Blog Of The Week
Port of New York and New Jersey Announced New Capacity Plans for Ultra-Large Container Ships, and Other Projects
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