Starting Wednesday, West Coast Ports Get Even More Expensive
06/29/2009
A loss of West Coast cargo volume, a decline in hours being worked, pension fund investment losses, and deferred actuarial costs from the 1980s and 1990s will increase the manpower, TEU, and tonnage assessments charged to provide benefits to the members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. read more |
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Portland Says No More Layoffs; Tacoma Still Finalizing Numbers
06/29/2009
Port of Portland Executive Director Bill Wyatt says he does not anticipate further layoffs, despite further dips in container volumes in May."We acted early and aggressively," Wyatt said. "It is unlikely we will have to do more. We cut pretty deep." Although 50 of the port's 800-plus positions were eliminated, only 16 people lost their jobs, since many unfilled positions had been left vacant prior to the layoffs. In addition, Wyatt said he was able to reduce the total number of layoffs by instituting a furlough program. read more |
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West Coast Port Execs Hit DC To Lobby For Freight Funding
06/29/2009
Executives from six major West Coast ports traveled to Washington last week to ask for more federal funding for freight movement and intermodal projects. The group - which included directors from the Port of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach, Port of Oakland, Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma and Port of Portland - met with members of Congress and with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. read more |
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Ports Team Up To Seek Shore-Side Power Funding
06/29/2009
By mid September, six major West Coast ports and the city of Long Beach hope to see big federal stimulus bucks heading their way to speed up major shore-side power projects. read more |
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L.A. Board Plans Special Monday Meeting On Shipyard Site
06/29/2009
After a long and contentious negotiation between the Port of Los Angeles and Gambol Industries over port plans to fill in two slips at the former Southwest Shipyard site as part of its $383 million channel-deepening project, the port board has scheduled a Monday meeting to discuss a proposed agreement between the parties. read more |
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L.A. And Long Beach Working On CAAP Two
06/29/2009
When the South Bay Clean Air Action Plan was created, everyone agreed that it should be a "living document," open to revision as time went on. The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach are now working on the second draft of the document, with plans to release a new draft for comment by the end of the summer. They had originally planned to have the second draft available last December. read more |
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Long Beach Will Help Pay Aquarium Debt In Deal With City
06/29/2009
The Port of Long Beach has agreed to pay $8,077,083 toward debt service on the Aquarium of the Pacific in a deal with the City Redevelopment Agency in which the port will be reimbursed through public improvements constructed in the harbor district. read more |
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Portland Breaks Ground On Rail Upgrade In Industrial District
06/29/2009
Port of Portland officials broke ground last week on a $14 million rail project designed to increase capacity and decrease rail system congestion in the Rivergate Industrial District. The Ramsey Rail facilities will include a second main lead line and three storage tracks to serve the 2,800-acre industrial district. read more |
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What's The Buzz
06/29/2009
Seal Beach-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp. is issuing 8.2 million shares of common stock, priced at $8.30 per share ... Sarens Group has acquired 100 percent of Rigging International shares in a strategic alliance that provides the Belgium company entry into the U.S. market at the same time that it strengthens the international presence of the veteran rigging/heavy haul transport company ... The 653-foot Swedish freighter Otello crashed into the wharf at the Port of Hueneme on Friday, damaging both the ship and the pier. read more |
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West Coast Box Volumes Still Down, But Decline Is Less Steep
06/22/2009
The latest figures out on container volumes at West Coast ports include little data to suggest that recovery is just around the corner, but the decline from last year may indeed be slowing. At four of the five major West Coast container ports, the declines in container traffic from May to May were lower than what they were for the year-to-date. The one exception was the Port of Los Angeles, where May container volumes were down 16.3 percent from May 2008 and volumes for the first five months of 2009 were down 16.2 percent from the same period last year. read more |
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Roadability Rules Being Phased In, But Are People Ready?
06/22/2009
The new intermodal chassis roadability regulations that started being phased in last week may have taken more than 10 years to develop, but there's still a lot of confusion over what they mean and what trucking companies, terminal operators, and chassis-owners will need to do to comply. Final implementation of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulation is scheduled for Dec. 17. read more |
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PMSA Says CARB Wrong, State Jurisdiction Stops At 3 Miles Out
06/22/2009
The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association has filed its final answer to how far off the coast a state can regulate what kind of fuel a ship may burn. The answer according to the PMSA, which represents shipping lines and terminal operators, is three miles. The PMSA is suing the California Air Resources Board and says that CARB's rule requiring all ships calling at California ports to burn low-sulfur fuel within 24 nautical miles of the coast exceeds the state's authority. read more |
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Oakland Passes Truck Management Program With Ban
06/22/2009
The Port of Oakland board voted 5-1 last week to approve a Comprehensive Truck Management Program that will call for all drayage companies servicing the port to sign up in a Secure Truck Enrollment Program and be part of a truck registry database that includes the company, the truck, and the driver. read more |
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Long Beach And BP Make History, But Was It Worth It?
06/22/2009
It took a bit longer and it cost a whole lot more money than expected, but the Port of Long Beach and British Petroleum have made history. read more |
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Poised For Cold-Ironing, Pier 400 Project Eyes Sock Technology
06/22/2009
While the Port of Long Beach and BP have boldly gone where no one has gone before, their experience supports the notion that low sulfur fuel and the sock-on-a-stack technology may be the more cost-effective way to reduce emissions from tankers calling at oil import terminals. read more |
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Sock-On-A-Stack To Get Extended Try-Out In Long Beach
06/22/2009
The "sock-on-a-stack" technology, which has been the subject of a few short-term test runs in recent years at the Port of Long Beach, is about to get an extended look. Harbor commissioners have tentatively approved up to $2.39 million for a long trial run. read more |
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L.A. And Long Beach Working On CAAP Two
06/22/2009
When the South Bay Clean Air Action Plan was created, everyone agreed that it should be a "living document," open to revision as time went on. The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach are now working on the second draft of the document, with plans to release a new draft for comment by the end of the summer. They had originally planned to have the second draft available last December. read more |
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Tacoma Clean Air Update Shows Big Progress
06/22/2009
The Port of Tacoma's efforts to clean up the air in and around the harbor has resulted in more than half of the trucks and ships calling at the port reducing their emissions to meet goals, according to the port's 2008 Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy report. read more |
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What's The Buzz
06/22/2009
The projected completion time for the Blair-Hylebos Peninsula building demolition project at the Port of Tacoma is being pushed back ... The Port of Los Angeles board voted Thursday evening to approve the $144 million, 94-acre Wilmington waterfront redevelopment plan and certify the final Environmental Impact Report for the project. read more |
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Quickie: FMC Requests Dismissal Of Clean Trucks Programs Suit
06/16/2009
The Federal Maritime Commission this morning requested that its lawsuit against the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach clean truck programs be dismissed. In today's filing, the FMC noted that its request for an injunction to stop implementation of the ports' clean trucks programs - which was denied by the court earlier this year - "has become moot due to events over which the Commission has had no influence or control." read more |
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Coastal Commission Delays Vote On L.A. Channel Dredging
06/15/2009
A California Coastal Commission vote on the port master plan amendment needed to complete the final phase of a $383 million channel-deepening project at the Port of Los Angeles has been delayed due to two pending appeals of the project's environmental impact report. The next possible date for the Coastal Commission to consider the matter is during its July 8-10 meeting in San Luis Obispo. Without Coastal Commission approval, the port can't get the federal permit it needs to finish the project. read more |
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CARB Files Answer To PMSA Challenge On Low-Sulfur Fuel Rules
06/15/2009
The California Air Resources Board has filed its answer to a suit brought by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which seeks to block enforcement on July 1 of CARB's low-sulfur fuel rule for ships calling at California ports. PMSA claims that the new rule - which would mandate the use of low-sulfur fuel out to 24 nautical miles from the coast - exceeds state jurisdiction. read more |
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Riverside Suit Against Long Beach Project Assigned To Judge
06/15/2009
The lawsuit brought by the City of Riverside against the City and Port of Long Beach over the number of trains generated by the port's $750 million, 10-year Middle Harbor Project has been assigned to Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Yaffe. The suit claims the Environmental Impact Report for the project was inadequate because it failed to analyze the impact on Riverside - some 50 miles to the east - of additional train traffic that would be generated by the project. read more |
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Long Beach Vs Canada: Not-Quite-An International Incident
06/15/2009
First the media blasted the news to the world that the Port of Long Beach was going to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to file a complaint accusing Canadian ports of having an unfair trade advantage and possibly violating World Trade Organization rules because of help they receive from the Canadian Government. When the Canadian ports heard about the Long Beach allegations, they responded by blasting the Port of Long Beach for spreading misinformation about how they operate and noted that the American ports receive all sorts of grants and subsidies from the U.S. government. read more |
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Clean Trucks By The Dollar – Cost To Ports Less Than Expected
06/15/2009
Less than one year into the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach clean truck program, the fleet is turning over faster than anyone would have anticipated, and the private sector is footing most of the bill. read more |
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L.A.-Long Beach LNG Station Waiting On Sewer Line Hookup
06/15/2009
Clean Energy's new alternative fueling station - the largest such facility in the nation - is almost ready to start pumping liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas to trucks throughout the port area. But first, the company has got to get the restroom facilities hooked up to the sewer line. read more |
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Chevron Looking At Options After Judge’s Ruling
06/15/2009
Chevron is evaluating its options and hasn't yet decided how it'll move forward after a court decision declaring that the company's Environmental Impact Report for a planned upgrade of its Richmond refinery is inadequate. read more |
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Long Beach Plans Port Public Address System, Sonar Devices
06/15/2009
The Port of Long Beach plans to build a port-wide public address system that would warn people at the port of emergencies. The port already has ways to notify folks over the internet and on their cell phones, but the proposed public address system would spread emergency information through loudspeakers, flashing strobe lights, and kiosks with video monitors and emergency phones. The different ways of spreading information are being designed so that people with disabilities will also have real-time access to the emergency information. read more |
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What's The Buzz
06/15/2009
The Port of Seattle will submit a 3,821-page report to the Washington state auditor's office later this month in response to a highly critical 2007 performance audit of the port's construction management practices ... The Port of San Diego board has approved a $145 million budget for 2009-10, down 2.3 million from the 2008-09 amended budget ... The Port of Seattle has gotten an ‘AA' rating for $283 million in Revenue Bonds from Fitch Ratings, which also gave the bonds an outlook of "stable. read more |
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Oakland Commission Deadlocks Over Proposed Truck Ban
06/08/2009
The Port of Oakland commission failed to approve a long-awaited Comprehensive Truck Management Plan last week after two commissioners questioned the legal ramifications of a proposed truck ban that was recently added to the plan. After a long and sometimes contentious debate, board members had the item put on the June 16 agenda so that the plan could be reconsidered after the port's legal department has time to address concerns about the truck ban. read more |
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Port Metro Vancouver Enforces Ban On Pre-1994 Trucks
06/08/2009
Port Metro Vancouver, B.C. has joined U.S. West Coast ports in adopting measures to force old diesel-belching trucks off roadways. As of April 1, pre-1994 trucks have been banned from Vancouver terminals. Port officials say the restrictions have forced some 137 trucks off of the roads so far. Ten of those trucks have been replaced with newer models and five of the trucks have undergone engine replacements. read more |
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Long Beach Council Offers Suggestions On Middle Harbor
06/08/2009
The Long Beach City Council has some ideas on how the Port of Long Beach should proceed with the oversight and construction of its Middle Harbor redevelopment project. Most of the eight suggestions that the Council had approved during its June 2 meeting had to do with ensuring that community health issues related to the Middle Harbor project are appropriately addressed, however the Council also suggested that the port consider a project labor agreement for construction contracts. read more |
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Coastal Commission To Consider POLA Plan Amendment
06/08/2009
The Port of Los Angeles Master Plan Amendment needed to finish the last phase of a $383 million channel-deepening project that last week won approval - rather than a veto - from the L.A. City Council will be considered Friday by the California Coastal Commission. The Commission will hold a public hearing before voting on the amendment and a related U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finding. Commission staff is recommending approval of both items. read more |
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L.A. Passes $1.1 Billion Budget – A Third Goes To Capital Projects
06/08/2009
The Port of Los Angeles will run on a $1.1 billion budget for the coming year - about 1.8 percent less than this year. And while the overall budget remains essentially flat, it reflects significant internal shifts such as increased spending on capital projects and a reduction in salaries and benefits. read more |
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ATA Economist Says Worst Is Over, But Recovery Will Be Slow
06/08/2009
American Trucking Associations Vice President and Chief Economist Bob Costello told the Los Angeles Transportation Club last week that he had good news and bad. The good news is that the worst of the current economic crisis is over. The bad news is that recovery is going to take a while, especially for the trucking industry. read more |
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New Cars With Nowhere To Go Still Backed Up At Ports
06/08/2009
With sales and imports of Asian vehicles still tumbling in the U.S., some West Coast ports are continuing to see backlogs of cars in and around their terminals. In recent months Toyota, Honda, Nissan and others have all had to cut production in response to the current global recession, leading to backlogs at ports that depend heavily on foreign car imports for a substantial portion of their business. read more |
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L.A. Port, Sheriff Will Team Up To Train Harbor Cops
06/08/2009
The Port of Los Angeles and the L.A. County Sheriff's Department are developing a state-certified Maritime Officers Training Program. The curriculum will consist of 120-220 hours of classroom instruction and field exercise designed to teach port police all aspects of port security including operating procedures, boating and industry regulations, boating enforcement, tactical operations and how to handle critical waterway incidents. A homeland security component will focus on disaster planning for chemical or terrorist attacks. read more |
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What's The Buzz
06/08/2009
A federal judge has rejected a request that the California Air Resources Board be given more time to respond to a Pacific Merchant Shipping Association motion for summary judgment in a case that the PMSA filed in April challenging CARB's plan for a low-sulfur fuel standard for ships out to 24 nautical miles off the coast ... Port of Tacoma commissioners last week publicly supported Executive Director Tim Farrell's decision to cut 47 employees from the port's 256-person workforce ... The Port of Long Beach board last week tentatively approved a staff recommendation to adjust the types and quantity of drayage trucks it has pre-ordered for sale as part of its Clean Trucks Program. read more |
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Quickie: Brennan Designated Acting FMC Chairman By Obama
06/05/2009
President Barack Obama has designated Federal Maritime Commissioner Joseph E. Brennan as acting FMC chairman, it was announced today. Brennan was the dissenting member of the commission in its challenge of the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach clean truck plans, voting on several occasions against the other two commissioners, Harold Creel Jr. and Rebecca Dye. read more |
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Quickie: Long Beach Unveils World’s 1st Cold Ironing Oil Terminal
06/03/2009
The Port of Long Beach today celebrated the opening of the long-awaited cold-ironing facility at the BP Oil Terminal on Pier T. Port and city officials along with executives from BP America and Alaska Tanker Co. took the dockside dais to laud completion of the $23.7 million project, which has been marked by both delays and cost overruns. As they spoke, the 941-foot tanker Alaska Navigator discharged its load in the background while plugged into shoreside power. read more |
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Quickie: Ex-City Councilwoman Named To L.A. Harbor Commission
06/03/2009
Former City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski has been appointed to the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Although the Harbor Commission officially elects its own president and board officers, in Los Angeles those officers are traditionally designated by the mayor and voted in by the board. Miscikowski is expected to be elected as board president - replacing former Commission President S. David Freeman who resigned in May to become Deputy Mayor for energy and environment. read more |
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Quickie: Long Beach Inviting Ideas On Zero Emissions Cargo Mover
06/02/2009
The Port of Long Beach is expected to make a formal announcement tomorrow that it is seeking ideas for developing a zero emissions cargo movement system in the nation's busiest harbor complex. The notice - called a "Request for Concepts and Solutions" - will invite interested vendors to pitch ideas based on the viability of available technology and its financial feasibility. read more |
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Quickie: L.A. Port Clarifies Position On Shipyard, Averts Delay
06/01/2009
The last phase of a $383 million channel-deepening project at the Port of Los Angeles has escaped a potentially disastrous delay due to an emergency resolution adopted this evening by the Harbor Commission. Commissioners approved a formal clarification stating that a shipbuilding yard/ship repair facility is not a precluded use of the land that will be created by filling in the slips at the former Southwest Marine site. read more |
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Promise Of New Jobs Threatens To Delay L.A. Channel Dredging
06/01/2009
When the Los Angeles City Council meets Tuesday, it is expected to send a port master plan amendment back to the Harbor Department and urge board members to "fix" the document to allow for the preservation of two slips off the main channel. The master plan amendment is needed to finish the last leg of a $383 million channel-deepening project that would give the port a uniform depth of -53 feet. read more |
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ILWU Says Dredging Delay Would Be Irresponsible
06/01/2009
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union issued a press release Friday declaring the union's strong opposition to any attempts to delay the deepening of the Port of Los Angeles main channel in order to accommodate a proposed shipyard. The statement said plans for Gambol Industries' proposed shipyard were vague, noting that Todd Shipyard closed the doors at its L.A. operation 20 years ago. There are no obvious signs of demand for similar services, the union claimed. read more |
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Oakland Details Environmental Efforts To Assembly Committee
06/01/2009
The Port of Oakland Commission is expected to take action this week on a much-awaited clean truck plan that will ban pre-1994 trucks from marine terminals starting on January 1. read more |
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Clean Trucks Ahead Of Schedule – But Box Fee Not On Way Out
06/01/2009
The drayage fleet serving the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles is going green at a faster clip than anticipated, and if the conversion continues at the present rate the ports will meet their 2012 goal of slashing truck-related pollution by 80 percent as early as this December, according to one projection. read more |
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Clean Energy Loading Cool Fuel At Harbor Area Station
06/01/2009
The folks at Clean Energy started loading LNG into storage tanks Thursday at its soon-to-open filling station serving the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. This week they plan to fuel some trucks at the station to make sure everything is working correctly and to finish getting the final permits in hand to open for business. The new station - the largest alternative fuel station in the country - features two 25,000-gallons storage tanks, six liquefied natural gas dispensers and two compressed natural gas dispensers. read more |
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Port Of Longview Makes Preparations For A New Grain Terminal
06/01/2009
The Port of Longview will hold a special commission meeting today (June 1) to consider a lease agreement for a new $150 million grain terminal. The commissioners also will hold a public hearing to discuss a proposed amendment to the port's comprehensive plan that will permit the development of the terminal. read more |
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What's The Buzz
06/01/2009
The World - a floating condo complex onboard a 644-foot cruise ship - is currently calling at the Port of San Diego ... The Portland City Council has agreed to work with the Port of Portland to look at possible annexation of West Hayden Island so that the port can develop an 825-acre strip with maritime and industrial uses read more |
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Heim Bridge Project Should Reduce Congestion, Greenhouse Gases
06/01/2009
Four of the six alternatives considered for replacement of the Schuyler Heim Bridge are likely to result in unavoidable, significant adverse impacts, including increased air pollution generated from construction and marine vessel emissions caused by detours, according to the project's Final EIS/EIR. read more |
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Quickie: CARB To Release $90 Million For Freight Emissions Projects
05/26/2009
The California Air Resources Board announced today that it will received $161 million in the next installment of Proposition 1B funds with $90 million of it earmarked for the state's Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program. Prop 1B - a $19.93 billion Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality and Port Security bond measure - was passed by state voters in 2006, but disbursement of the funds was postponed because of the state's inability to raise bond funding. read more |
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Long Beach Tightening Its Budget Belt, But It's Still Green
05/25/2009
The $881 million Port of Long Beach spending plan for fiscal year 2009-2010 may be down 13.6 percent from this year's budget, but the port's commitment to the environment is not being cut. The budget approved by harbor commissioners last week projects that there will be a 22 percent reduction in cargo for this year, resulting in a 16 percent decline in operating revenues. Non-operating revenue - primarily interest income and revenue from oil operations - has also fallen because of lower interest income due to the Federal Reserve cutting rates and lower market prices for the Wilmington crude oil pumped from beneath port property. read more |
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Will L.A. Main Channel Deepening Get Stuck In Bureaucratic Mud?
05/25/2009
The Port of Los Angeles plan to deepen its main channel and fill in two slips at the former Southwest Marine shipyard with contaminated spoils is being challenged before the City Council by harbor-area Councilwoman Janice Hahn and Gambol Industries, the company that wants to develop a new ship-and-barge repair facility at the site. read more |
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Puget Sound Pilots Told: No Raise, No Way, No How
05/25/2009
Puget Sound port pilots, who currently earn about $411,000 per year, have been denied a requested six percent hike in pilot rates. The Washington State Board of Pilotage Commissioners turned down their request last week after receiving a letter from the Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma and Port of Everett in opposition to the increase. read more |
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Port Of Seattle Says Deeper Cuts May Be Needed Next Year
05/25/2009
Even though Port of Seattle officials expect to reduce their operating expenses by more than $16 million this year due to steep cuts in travel and training budgets and furloughs for all employees, the cost savings realized in 2009 may not be sustainable in the long term. read more |
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Port Of Tacoma Employees Will Not Go Gently Into The Night
05/25/2009
Some of the 47 employees at the Port of Tacoma who are facing layoffs made it clear last week that they are not going to give up their jobs without being heard. An estimated 40 to 50 employees packed the port commission meeting on Thursday, two days after final layoff notices were issued. Many of the employees were from the port's maintenance division, which is represented by ILWU Local 22. read more |
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Poor Economy Puts Plans For NYK’s Tacoma Terminal in Flux
05/25/2009
NYK's proposed terminal at the Port of Tacoma may be facing some changes due to declines in international trade, Tacoma officials acknowledged last week. At a budget briefing to port commissioners, Tacoma officials noted that some of the funds designated for the proposed 168-acre terminal on the Blair-Hylebos Peninsula have been "moved out" by three years. read more |
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Idle Locomotives Offer Visual Display Of Economic Downturn
05/25/2009
Sometimes it's hard for people on the outside to tell what a company's business is really like at any given time. But for anyone driving east through the Inland Empire the I-10, Union Pacific's lowered business volumes have been on dramatic display. read more |
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As Economy Plunges, Cool Cargoes Remain Hot Commodity
05/25/2009
News remains grim for ocean carriers with volumes dropping in the double digits, but reefer cargoes are at least close to holding their own. read more |
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What's The Buzz
05/25/2009
Employees at the Port of Long Beach will be taking five days off without pay as part of a city-wide furlough program ... APL says it will be moved into its new American regional headquarters in Phoenix by the end of the third quarter ... Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Barbara Zuniga has tentatively ruled that the Environmental Impact Report for a Chevron plan to replace aging equipment at its Richmond refinery is inconsistent and unclear read more |
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Quickie: Port of Tacoma To Lay Off Nearly 20 Percent Of Workforce
05/20/2009
Nearly one in five of the employees at the Port of Tacoma received lay-off notices this week, as the port attempts to trim its expenses in the wake of declining cargo volumes. The layoffs will impact a total of 47 of the port's 256 employees at all levels of the organization, including maintenance and clerical workers who are represented by the ILWU, administrative employees in nearly every department, and five department heads. read more |
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L.A. To ATA: Post A Bond, ATA To Court: Injunction Inadequate
05/18/2009
The Port of Los Angeles is asking the U.S. District Court to require the American Trucking Associations to post a $2,058,300 bond in the current lawsuit brought by the ATA against the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach concession plans. The bond would ensure that if the port prevails in the case, it would be reimbursed for any money it may lose from concession fees not collected while the current preliminary injunction is in place. read more |
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FMC Asks For Dismissal Of NRDC Suit On Port Clean Truck Plans
05/18/2009
The Federal Maritime Commission has filed a request asking Judge Christina Snyder to dismiss the case brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council over the FMC's attempt to block the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach clean truck programs as they now exist. The FMC claims the ports' clean truck programs as now constituted will unreasonably reduce competition, raise rates, and reduce intermodal service. The agency, which granted the ports' request for anti-trust immunity so that the ports could collaborate on their clean truck programs, says the final results are not acceptable. read more |
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Prop 1B Funds On The Way – Not Certain Where They’re Going
05/18/2009
At least some of the $98 million of Prop 1B money earmarked in 2006 to help pay for new cleaner-burning port trucks will likely be available soon, although the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach may not end up administering any portion of those funds. read more |
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West Coast Port Stats Make 2008 Seem Like The Good Old Days
05/18/2009
The April container stats are in for the West Coast and there is little there to cheer folks up. Compared to the same month last year, some ports were down more than others, but everybody was down. After the dismal figures posted in February, there had been some glimmer of hope that the bottom had been hit and recovery had begun when March figures showed the year-to-year drop in container trade was getting smaller. April took the shine off of that silver lining. read more |
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Prince Rupert Has Not Escaped Impact of the Global Recession
05/18/2009
The Port of Prince Rupert may be siphoning trade away from Southern California and the Pacific Northwest, but it is not immune from the global recession. First quarter container counts for the British Columbia port indicate a significant reduction in volumes. read more |
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Long Beach Council Backs Port’s Middle Harbor Project
05/18/2009
After nearly six hours of discussion, the Long Beach City Council last week voted unanimously to deny four appeals challenging the adequacy of the Port of Long Beach Final Environmental Impact Report for its Middle Harbor redevelopment project. read more |
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Big Cable, Little Trench Costs Port Big Bucks
05/18/2009
The scheduled re-opening of the Port of Seattle Terminal 30 has been delayed for two months thanks to a design error that may ultimately cost the port $1 million. Even though U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke joined port officials last Friday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the $50 million 70-acre terminal, ships will not call there until mid-July. read more |
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Long Beach To Wrap Up Pier A West Remediation By Summer
05/18/2009
A Port of Long Beach project to remove and replace about 345,000 tons of contaminated soil on about 80 acres at Pier A West in Wilmington and restore oil operations there is expected to be complete by this summer. read more |
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What's The Buzz
05/18/2009
The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp is predicting a 13.5 percent decline in container trade at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach on top of the 8.5 percent decline in 2008 ... Fitch Ratings has assigned an ‘AA' rating to about $200 million in Port of Los Angeles revenue bonds and up to $550 million in revenue refunding bonds, both scheduled for negotiated sale in mid-June ... Hong Kong-based Fleet Management has conceded that it was partially responsible for the 2007 allision between the container ship Cosco Busan and the San Francisco Bay Bridge that resulted in a 53,000 gallon oil spill and has asked federal Judge Susan Illston to accept its guilty plea. read more |
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Quickie: ATA Says Truck Concession Injunction Falls Short
05/15/2009
The American Trucking Associations filed legal papers Thursday, setting the stage to challenge the preliminary injunction issued last month enjoining certain elements of the Clean Truck Concessions at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. The ATA claims the injunction did not go far enough, and that it should have included the concessions in their entirety. read more |
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Quickie: Long Beach Council Backs Port’s Middle Harbor EIR
05/12/2009
Long Beach City Council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to reject appeals from environmentalists, community groups, the Teamsters, and the cities of Riverside and Commerce and to give their blessing to the port's Middle Harbor Redevelopment plan. Although the Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission approved the project's Environmental Impact Report last month, four appeals were filed for the City Council to overturn the board's decision. read more |
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Grim Details Of Tacoma Layoff Plan Draws Shocked Reaction
05/11/2009
Port of Tacoma commissioners received a somber overview last week of the planned staff reduction program that will affect an undetermined number of employees. A voluntary "separation program" began on May 6 that will allow employees to resign from the port in return for a severance package. read more |
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Long Beach Middle Harbor Project Faces Next Test By Fire
05/11/2009
The Port of Long Beach Middle Harbor redevelopment project has gained more opposition, as more parties have joined with the City of Riverside in asking for a do-over. The City of Commerce and an alliance of environmental groups filed appeals of the recently certified EIR late last month, calling the port's Final Environmental Impact Report flawed. read more |
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L.A. OKs $44 Million For Alternative Fuel Truck Incentives
05/11/2009
The Port of Los Angeles has earmarked more than $44 million for a new clean truck incentive program that rewards drayage companies for investing in alternative fuel vehicles. Approved last week by harbor commissioners, the initiative represents the second round of the port's incentive program and the first step toward its new goal of helping to put 1,000 alternative fuel and electric vehicles into port service. read more |
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Long Beach Changes Tariffs on Transshipping, Dockage Time
05/11/2009
The Port of Long Beach has tentatively approved two tariff changes that could potentially save some of its customers millions of dollars a year. Under the changes approved at the May 4 board meeting, wharfage fees would be reduced by 50 percent on transshipped merchandise, and the rules for charging dockage fees would be revamped to accommodate certain vessels. read more |
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Railroads Remain Committed to Near-Dock Rail Projects
05/11/2009
Plummeting international freight volumes were one of the main reasons that profit and revenue fell from year-ago levels at both the Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe during the first quarter. Despite the drop in intermodal business flowing through the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, however, both rail carriers remain committed to building or expanding near dock rail facilities in the harbor area. read more |
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L.A. Planning To Issue Up To $300 Million In Revenue Bonds
05/11/2009
The Port of Los Angeles has authorized a plan to issue revenue bonds of up to $300 million for a maximum of 30 years to finance its $1.6 billion capital improvement program. Whether it uses the full amount remains to be seen. Commissioners also authorized the issuance of refunded bonds of up to $550 million to refinance existing debt for a maximum of 28 years. The port is taking advantage of more favorable terms available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009. read more |
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Does Carbon Emissions Study Give PNW Competitive Edge?
05/11/2009
Port of Seattle officials say that cargo shipped through the Pacific Northwest "green gateway" leaves a lower carbon footprint on the earth than cargo shipped through other North American ports - particularly East Coast ports that depend on the Panama Canal. Their claims are based on the results of a recent study performed by Herbert Engineering Corp., a marine engineering firm with offices in California and Maryland. read more |
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Rice Exports Soar At Port Of West Sacramento
05/11/2009
While container volumes are plummeting at West Coast ports, the Port of West Sacramento - which does not have container facilities - is enjoying a bumper year for rice exports. Port Manager Mike Luken said that the port is enjoying its best year for bagged rice exports in 15 years. This year, the port expects to export some 339,000 metric tons of bagged rice - about double what the port usually handles during the fall-to-fall rice export season. read more |
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What's The Buzz
05/11/2009
Port of Oakland officials say they will be able to finish dredging their harbor to minus 50 feet by the end of the summer, thanks to a recent influx of funds from the federal economic stimulus program... The L.A. City Council has unanimously rejected a bid by the mayor to create a new port management job and staff it with former Assemblyman Wally Knox... The Port of Seattle held its annual Seattle Maritime Festival last weekend. read more |
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Clean Air Ruling Impact Is More Principled Than Concrete
05/04/2009
On a practical level, the preliminary injunction issued last week by a federal judge does nothing to stop landmark programs set in motion to cut pollution from trucks at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. All of the measures for controlling trucks and collecting the clean truck fee to finance modernization of the drayage fleet remain intact. read more |
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Mack Says Employee Mandate Is Not A Teamster Plot
05/04/2009
One group not party to litigation over the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles clean truck programs is deeply concerned about Judge Christina Snyder's rulings on the American Trucking Associations bid to block key elements of the program. The Teamsters are very unhappy. read more |
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Tacoma: Volumes May Not Return For A Few More Years
05/04/2009
Pacific Northwest industry leaders were told last week that the downturn in trade may last for several more years, although some panelists at the Port of Tacoma annual breakfast said they are optimistic that things may turn around somewhat sooner than that. read more |
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Los Angeles Port Cutting Back Its Eleemosynary Activities
05/04/2009
Port of Los Angeles harbor commissioners spent Tuesday morning at a budget workshop looking for ways to tighten the port's fiscal belt without threatening port plans to function, grow, and retain its commitments to the environment. The conversation ranged from efforts to cut the money the port spends on salaries to the desire to expand its police force. Among the topics covered were: read more |
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PMSA Suit: How Far Does Long Arm Of State Regulation Extend?
05/04/2009
There's one big question to be answered in that Pacific Merchant Shipping Association's legal challenge filed last week against the California Air Resources Board's new low-sulfur regulation. How far from the coast can a state regulate ships? read more |
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David Freeman Wants To Know: Where Should We Put The Dirt?
05/04/2009
The Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission voted 4-0 on Wednesday to approve the Environmental Impact Report for deepening the main channel to 53 feet, but it took three hours of sometimes emotional and often contentious discussion to reach that decision. And through it all, Commission President S. David Freeman had one question. Where should we put the dirt? read more |
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Unfunded Water Action Plan Includes Legal Action Option
05/04/2009
The Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles on Tuesday released a draft of their joint 136-page Water Resources Action Plan for reducing harbor water pollution. And while the comprehensive strategy focuses on steps such as issuing manuals to port tenants about prohibited activities, it also lists suing upstream pollution sources as a possible enforcement option. read more |
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What's The Buzz
05/04/2009
Fitch Ratings has placed $1.1 billion in Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority senior revenue bonds and $970 million in ACTA subordinate revenue bonds on "Rating Watch Negative ... OOCL has introduced the first of two 8,000 TEU ships into the Northwest Express Service that it operates with Grand Alliance partners Hapag Lloyd, NYK Line and Zim. read more |
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Quickie: Key Parts On Hold, But Truck Concessions Still Stand
04/29/2009
Effective immediately, key portions of the trucking concession agreements at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach are on ice, but the concession programs themselves still stand. The result is that the clean truck pollution reduction programs will remain viable at the two ports. read more |
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Quickie: PMSA Sues CARB Again, Challenges 24-Mile Clean Fuel Rule
04/29/2009
The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association has taken the California Air Resources Board to U.S. District Court once again to challenge the state's authority to regulate fuel use in ships out to 24 nautical miles from the coast. read more |
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Quickie: Judge Expected To Allow Some Truck Concession Elements
04/27/2009
After hearing almost an hour of arguments from attorneys for the American Trucking Associations, the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, Judge Christina Snyder has taken under advisement whether to enjoin just portions of the ports' trucking concession plans or to enjoin them in their entirety. read more |
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Federal Judge Dismisses Mosler Case Against Los Angeles Port
04/26/2009
A federal judge has dismissed a long-standing whistleblower lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, the Port of Los Angeles, the Board of Harbor Commissioners and former port boss Larry Keller. The remaining defendant in the dispute, Maersk, is still on the legal hook for now. read more |
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Port of Tacoma Plans Second Quarter Employee Layoffs
04/26/2009
The Port of Tacoma is planning employee layoffs in response to declining cargo volumes and an anticipated $10 million drop in revenues this year. read more |
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Oakland Adopts Incentives For Terminals And Ocean Carriers
04/26/2009
Port of Oakland commissioners have approved a one-year discount and incentive program aimed at retaining or increasing cargo volumes by reducing costs for both marine terminal operators and ocean carriers. read more |
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Two Plans In Competition For Southwest Marine Yard Site
04/26/2009
A plan by Gambol Industries to restore the former Southwest Marine Yard site as a working marine center featuring ship and barge building and vessel repair and maintenance services is in direct conflict with plans by the Port of Los Angeles to fill in the two ship slips at the yard with dredge spoils from the port's Main Channel deepening project. read more |
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Riverside Appeals Long Beach Middle Harbor EIR To City Council
04/26/2009
The City of Riverside last week formally appealed the certification of a final Environmental Impact Report for the Port of Long Beach Middle Harbor redevelopment project. read more |
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“K” Line Withdrawal Will Be A Major Impact On Portland
04/26/2009
The Port of Portland may lose as much as a third of its container volumes due to the withdrawal of "K" Line ships from the port. "K" Line made its final call at the Port of Portland last week, after discontinuing a service that it started just eight months ago. read more |
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L.A.-Long Beach To Delay Infrastructure Container Fee
04/26/2009
The Port of Long Beach, smarting from a drop in container volume, has decided to delay by at least a year a $6 per TEU cargo fee that was scheduled to kick in on July 1. The Port of Los Angeles board approved a similar fee delay at its April 16 meeting. read more |
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State Case Against PacAnchor May Be Headed For Trial
04/26/2009
The California attorney general's office, which in the past several months has filed suits against Los Angeles-Long Beach area port drayage companies it claims are misclassifying workers as independent contractors, says it won't rule out filing more such lawsuits. read more |
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What's The Buzz
04/26/2009
Port of Stockton dockside operations were temporarily shut down Friday in a protest by members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 17, who were targeting Yara North America over union representation at the company's fertilizer warehouse ... The Port of Seattle welcomed its first ship at the new Smith Cove Cruise Terminal on Friday ... Port of Tacoma officials expect to receive $638,000 in federal stimulus funds from the Washington Department of Ecology to retrofit more than 100 pieces of cargo-handling equipment. read more |
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Hooray! Container Stats Only Way Down, Not Way, Way Down
04/19/2009
After the dismal month of February - when year-to-year trade dropped by 32.6 percent in Los Angeles, 40 percent in Long Beach, 21 percent in Oakland, 17.1 percent in Tacoma, and 36.8 percent in Seattle - everybody was touting the March stats released last week as good news. read more |
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FMC Strikes Out in Court, Lawyers Stake Out Turf In ATA Case
04/19/2009
In the up and down legal war over clean trucks at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach, the ports won a major battle last week when federal Judge Richard Leon refused a Federal Maritime Commission request for an injunction against elements of the ports' clean truck programs. The judge said that the FMC had failed to prove its case and had failed to show that the clean truck plans would lead to less competition, a decrease in service, or unreasonably higher rates. read more |
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Seattle OKs Clean Truck And Customer Incentive Plans
04/19/2009
Port of Seattle commissioners have unanimously approved a combined fee-free clean truck plan and a customer incentive package that is designed to enhance air quality while attracting new cargo to the port. read more |
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Middle Harbor EIR Gets OK After 8 Years And 6 Hours
04/19/2009
The Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission voted unanimously last week to approve the long-awaited final Environmental Impact Report for the Middle Harbor Project, but their six-hour meeting on the subject drew a broad cross-section of harbor area business, labor, community, and environmental folks. read more |
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TWIC Southern California Launch Comes Off Without A Hitch
04/19/2009
Despite concerns, the April 14 rollout of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program at the San Pedro Bay port complex went off with hardly a hitch. read more |
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Air Emissions Inventories – Not Just A Bunch Of Numbers
04/19/2009
The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach will soon issue their air emissions inventories for calendar year 2008. It will be the latest in a series of inventories done for the two ports over the past few years and the first one that will reflect the initial impact of the ports' clean truck programs. read more |
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Seattle Green Lights Traffic Improvement Projects
04/19/2009
Port of Seattle commissioners have agreed to contribute nearly $1.7 million to the cities of Seattle and Kent for two separate transportation projects designed to ease port-related congestion. read more |
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What's The Buzz
04/19/2009
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa came down to the harbor area last week to give his State of the City address at the Balqon truck factory ... The Port of Seattle has new guidelines for berthing non-cruise vessels at Pier 66 in downtown Seattle ... The International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the California Association of Port Authorities, and the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association have written a letter to the Governor, the state assembly and senate legislative leaders noting an almost 50 percent decline in daily jobs at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. read more |
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Quickie: FMC Request For Clean Trucks Injunction Denied By Judge
04/15/2009
Federal Judge Richard Leon in a 25-page opinion handed down today rejected the request by the Federal Maritime Commission for an injunction against the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach Clean Truck programs. The judge said the FMC had failed to show either the likelihood of success on the merits of its case or the irreparable harm to drayage companies necessary to warrant an injunction. read more |
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Quickie: Long Beach Approves $750 Million Middle Harbor Project EIR
04/13/2009
After 51 speakers, two hours of public testimony, an hour and 20 minutes of board and staff discussion, and then another two hours of discussion and clarification, Port of Long Beach Harbor Commissioners voted unanimously this afternoon to approve the final Environmental Impact Report for the Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project. read more |
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ATA To Judge: Enjoin The Truck Concession Programs In Toto
04/11/2009
Armed with an order from the 9th Circuit Appellate Court, the American Trucking Associations is asking Judge Christina Snyder not to cherry pick which parts of Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach concession programs to enjoin, but to ban them in their entirety. read more |
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Tom Campbell: Coming Inflation Will Discourage Trade
04/11/2009
Economist-politician-professor-gubernatorial candidate Tom Campbell warned folks at the annual meeting of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association last week to expect a period of high inflation that will discourage imports to the United States. Although he predicted the current recession would end in late 2010, he said that it would be followed by double-digit inflation that will devalue the dollar as a currency of choice on the world market. read more |
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Nagging Questions Cloud Environmental Review
04/11/2009
When the Port of Long Beach board votes today on the final Environmental Impact Report for its Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project it will complete an environmental review process that began more than five years ago. read more |
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Bad Economy Eases TWIC Implementation
04/11/2009
The economic slump may be bad for business, but it's good for meeting the TWIC deadline about to kick in at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. Lower cargo volumes have paved the way for a smoother transition when the high-tech ID card becomes mandatory on Tuesday. That's when longshore workers, truckers and others must show a Transportation Worker Identification Credential to get past the terminal gates to do their jobs. read more |
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Oakland Approves Air Plan; Will Consider User Fees
04/11/2009
Port of Oakland commissioners have approved a Maritime Air Quality Improvement Plan that is designed to reduce diesel emissions from port activities by 85 percent between now and 2020. read more |
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Oakland Funds Retrofit Program Again – And Then Some
04/11/2009
The Port of Oakland has authorized the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to spend up to $5 million in port funds to retrofit drayage trucks with diesel particulate filters. Some $2 million of the funds were already transferred to the Bay Area AQMD last August. However, due to financial problems, the port asked for its money back in December. That money was never returned. read more |
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San Diego Moves Ahead On Truck Plan, Owners Will Pay More
04/11/2009
Although the State of California has frozen funding for its Goods Movement Emission Reduction Program, the Port of San Diego and the San Diego Air Pollution Control District are still moving forward to fund a clean truck program. read more |
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San Diego Will Let Hard-Hit Tenants Defer Rent Payments
04/11/2009
In response to the economic recession gripping much of the West Coast shipping industry, the Port of San Diego is establishing a temporary financial relief program that will allow certain financially strapped tenants to defer some lease-mandated rental payments. read more |
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What's The Buzz
04/11/2009
The Coast Guard has called off its search for a crewman who fell into the ocean during a transfer between two oil tankers about 70 miles off San Diego ... The first of three refurbished cranes from the Port of Los Angeles was finally hoisting containers out of the hold last week after arriving in Guam ... The 4,100-TEU containership YM Taichung limped into the Port of Los Angeles last week minus 14 containers lost at sea and with 26 damaged containers still on board, but knocked over from the starboard side of the vessel to the middle. read more |
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L.A. Council Committee Denies Appeal Of Pier 400 Oil Terminal
04/05/2009
A Los Angeles City Council committee has unanimously rejected a challenge to the Port of Los Angeles board approval of development of a new marine oil terminal and certification of the Environmental Impact Report for the project. read more |
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Seattle Incentive Plan Has Green Strings Attached
04/05/2009
The Port of Seattle commission is considering a two-pronged proposal that would reduce some terminal fees while giving port terminals responsibility for enforcing a new clean truck program. read more |
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L.A. Plans Incentive Program For Alternative Fuel Trucks
04/05/2009
The Port of Los Angeles is launching another clean truck incentive program. This time, the goal is to help put 1,000 new alternative fuel trucks into port drayage service - 900 heavy-duty trucks that run on liquefied natural gas and 100 that run on all-electric lithium batteries. read more |
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L.A. – Long Beach $100 Day Pass Truck Fee To Be Trimmed To $30
04/05/2009
If you thought the $100-per-port day pass for trucks calling 12 times a year or less is pricey, it turns out that the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach agree. read more |
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Ports Move To Make It Right For Gateway Cities Truckers
04/05/2009
Before the clean truck programs at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, there was the Gateway Cities Fleet Modernization Program. And when the new programs came along, truckers who had signed up for the earlier version were left to wonder how they were supposed to stay in business while honoring a commitment to costly equipment that was about to be phased out. read more |
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L.A. Port Looking At Employee Furloughs To ‘Share The Pain’
04/05/2009
Its budget is in the black, but the Port of Los Angeles is contemplating furloughs for its workers as a "show of shared sacrifice" in light of the city's larger financial woes. read more |
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Richmond Honda Terminal Lawsuit Settled, Project Gets A Go
04/05/2009
The Port of Richmond has a legal green light to go ahead with the development of an auto facility that will handle at least 145,000 Hondas a year. read more |
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RFQ Expected On Zero Emission Cargo Mover System
04/05/2009
The Port of Long Beach, the Port of Los Angeles and the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority are expected to release a joint Request for Qualifications on a project to develop and demonstrate a financially self-sufficient and stand-alone zero emission container-mover system. Although proposed maglev systems have drawn the most press, the RFQ is open to any project that can convey containers without producing emissions directly from the conveyance. read more |
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Canadian Governments, Railroads Join To Fund Projects
04/05/2009
The projects include two new grade separations, modifications to an underpass, and a road re-alignment project designed to improve road and rail access to Port Metro Vancouver's North Shore terminals and neighboring industries. read more |
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What's The Buzz
04/05/2009
For the second straight year, the Port of San Diego will offer free informational boat and bus tours of San Diego Bay ... The Port of Los Angeles will give West Basin Container Terminal a grant of up to $1.2 million to convert two diesel-powered rubber-tired gantry cranes to run on electricity ... On April 24, the Holland America "Amsterdam" will be the first ship to call at the new Smith Cove Cruise Terminal at the Port of Seattle. read more |
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ATA Case Due Back In Court April 27 For Oral Arguments
03/29/2009
A 9th Circuit Court appellate panel has ordered Federal Judge Christina Snyder to change her decision last December not to grant the American Trucking Associations a preliminary injunction in its case against trucking concession plans at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Oral arguments in the case have been scheduled for April 27. read more |
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Oakland Accelerates Schedule For Truck Management Plan
03/29/2009
Port of Oakland commissioners have adopted an accelerated schedule for development of a truck management program that should result in board action on June 2. read more |
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Clean Truck Progress By The Numbers
03/29/2009
Less than six months into the clean truck programs, about 23 percent of the trucks calling at the Port of Los Angeles and more than 21 percent of the trucks calling at the Port of Long Beach meet the 2007 emissions standard that the entire drayage fleet must comply with by 2012. read more |
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Another Delay Expected For $15 Infrastructure Fee
03/29/2009
The Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission is expected to push back collection of a $15 per TEU infrastructure fee - planned to go into effect on July 1, 2009 - for another year. read more |
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Long Beach Tweaks Clean Truck Fee Exemptions
03/29/2009
The Port of Long Beach Harbor Commission last week gave preliminary approval to a series of Clean Truck Program adjustments that would expand fee exemptions to trucking companies that buy alternative-fuel rigs. read more |
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Faster Freight, Cleaner Air: Progress Made, More To Come
03/29/2009
There were four recurring themes at last week's Faster Freight, Cleaner Air conference in Long Beach. read more |
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Peak Season No Longer An Issue At Long Beach Pulse Of Port
03/29/2009
The Port of Long Beach annual Pulse of the Port breakfast used to be a peak season forecast for the goods-movement industry. Not this year. The peak has become a valley, and the big question is not about congestion and capacity but about survival and strategy. read more |
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Long Beach Paying To Store Clean Trucks, Seeks New Deal
03/29/2009
The Port of Long Beach is paying about $30,000 a month to store dozens of new diesel and LNG trucks that it pre-ordered last summer but hasn't been able to sell or lease through its Clean Trucks Program. read more |
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What's The Buzz
03/29/2009
The Port of Seattle has decided to further postpone the acquisition of the Eastside Rail Corridor from the BNSF Railroad due to continued difficulties in the nation's bond markets and delayed review of the deal by the federal Surface Transportation Board ... The February figures for the Port of Oakland have been posted, and as expected Oakland container volumes in February were dramatically down compared to February. read more |
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Quickie: Appellate Clean Truck Ruling Creates Conference Buzz
03/24/2009
Last Friday's federal appeals court decision on the clean-trucks concession plan at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports had the full attention of people attending the Faster Freight, Cleaner Air conference in Long Beach on Monday. read more |
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February Brings Devestating Decline In Container Traffic
03/22/2009
It's hard to overstate just how bad February was for West Coast ports. The numbers are terrible - especially for imports, which were down from February 2008 by 43.3 percent at the Port of Long Beach, down by 35.3 percent at the Port of Los Angeles, down by 31.8 percent at the Port of Tacoma, and down by 43.3 percent at the Port of Seattle. read more |
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Portland Plans Layoffs, Pay Cuts, Furloughs As Volumes Dip
03/22/2009
About 25 employees at the Port of Portland are scheduled to be laid off, and another 25 unfilled positions will be eliminated as a result of budget cuts announced last week. read more |
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Tacoma Gets Clean Truck Program – But No Clean Truck Fees
03/22/2009
Port of Tacoma Commissioners have adopted a voluntary truck emissions improvement program that is free of fees associated with the Clean Truck Programs in Southern California. read more |
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L.A. OKs Cargo Incentive, Long Beach Takes Similar Action
03/22/2009
Port of Los Angeles harbor commissioners voted Thursday to approve a financial incentive program to pay vessel operators $20 per TEU for the increased number of loaded intermodal container that comes and goes through the port by rail between May 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010. read more |
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Chevron Sues Richmond, Claims New Inventory Tax Is Illegal
03/22/2009
Chevron Corp. says a new business license tax adopted by Richmond city voters in November is unconstitutional under the federal Commerce Clause and also violates a state law that prohibits local jurisdictions from imposing an inventory tax. read more |
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West Sacramento OKs Tank Farm EIR, But Oil Firms Aren’t Biting
03/22/2009
The City Council of West Sacramento has given final approval to an environmental impact review for a new petroleum tank farm in West Sacramento, but it's doubtful the facility will be built any time soon. read more |
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Oregon Ports Get Stimulus Funds
03/22/2009
The Oregon Department of Transportation has awarded more than $11 million in federal stimulus funds to the Port of Portland and the Port of Coos Bay. read more |
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Port Of Coos Bay Completes Rail Purchase, Plans Upgrades
03/22/2009
The Port of Coos Bay has paid nearly $16.6 million for the purchase of 111 miles of rail line from the Central Oregon & Pacific (CORP) Railroad. Rail service over a major section of the line between Coos Bay and Eugene was discontinued in September 2007 after CORP cited safety concerns about three tunnels along the route. The port's customers have since been forced to truck cargo between the docks and inland points at a cost two to three times higher than rail service. read more |
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Long Beach Will Spend Grant On 8 Security Upgrade Projects
03/22/2009
The Port of Long Beach has been awarded a $13.5 million grant from California's Homeland Security office, which the port plans to use for eight security upgrade projects. The projects and amounts earmarked for each include: read more |
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Ports Prepare To Wrap Up Water Resources Action Plan
03/22/2009
A draft of the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach joint Water Resources Action Plan, which has been under development since September, is due for release by the end of April. read more |
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What's The Buzz
03/22/2009
The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce may see its revenues from the Port of Los Angeles take a dip. With cargo volumes falling, the port is taking a look at where it can cut its contributions to various civic and trade groups ... Port of Los Angeles Commissioner Jerilyn Lopez-Mendoza expressed outrage when she saw a $6,000 item for pilot laundry at a recent budget workshop and said that a washing machine and dryer should be purchased so they can do their own laundry ... Port of Tacoma commissioners have agreed to postpone employee cost of living increases indefinitely. read more |
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Quickie: Appellate Panel – Clean Trucks Plans Probably Illegal
03/20/2009
A three-judge federal panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals says a lower court was wrong to deny a preliminary injunction against the truck concession programs at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, and that the appellate court is remanding the case to the original judge to decide which provisions, if not the entire package, should be enjoined. read more |
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A Sunnier Forecast On The Horizon? One Economist Thinks So
03/14/2009
There was little good news to be had at the tenth and final Center for International Trade and Transportation Town Hall meeting last week on the California State Long Beach campus. This year's theme was The Decade Ahead, and the one thing everybody was able to agree on is that the next ten years will be different than the last ten. read more |
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Town Hall: Is L.A.-Long Beach Driving Cargo To Other Ports?
03/14/2009
An industry panel of folks representing shippers, shipping lines, terminal operators, railroads and trucking at the Center for International Trade and Transportation Town Hall meeting in Long Beach last week gave a pessimistic view of the future for Southern California ports. read more |
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Some See Ports America Lease As A ‘Time For Mourning”
03/14/2009
Port of Oakland officials may view their recently approved 50-year lease with Ports America as a "groundbreaking concession" and a "blueprint" for future agreements at other ports, but at least some of Oakland's existing tenants say the lease is unfair and puts them at a financial disadvantage in competing with the new terminal. read more |
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Fitch Lowers Oakland’s Rating Despite $60 Million Boost
03/14/2009
Even though the Port of Oakland's 50-year lease with Ports America gives the port $60 million in upfront cash that will be used to retire some $55 million in outstanding debt, Fitch Ratings has downgraded the port's revenue bonds. read more |
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Offpeak Reduction Will Cut Expenses, Cost Jobs
03/14/2009
Terminal operators at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach hope to trim the cost per TEU of moving cargo during night and weekend hours by $17 to $25 per TEU by eliminating one OffPeak shift per week - either Thursday evening or Saturday day. PierPass President Bruce Wargo said the decision - which will take effect the week of April 6 - was made in response to an unprecedented drop in cargo volume coming through the ports. read more |
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L.A. Gets Ready For Phase Two Of Cargo Incentive Program
03/14/2009
As early as this week, the Port of Los Angeles is expected to move forward with the second prong of its program for retaining cargo and jobs in a bad economy. On the table is an incentive program that would pay shipping lines $20 per TEU for each additional container they handle that arrives or leaves the port by rail. If approved, the intermodal cargo incentive program would start May 1. read more |
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Port Of Long Beach Working On Discount Program For Shippers
03/14/2009
The Port of Long Beach is working on a discount program in tandem with its proposed incentive program, which is aimed at luring shippers to its docks. The proposed Long Beach incentive package would reduce the cost of moving a railed cargo container by 10 percent. read more |
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PNW Ports Get Nod On Stimulus Funds For Roadway Upgrades
03/14/2009
The Pacific Northwest ports may be the first ports to get economic stimulus funds and are likely to be the first ports to put their shovels in the ground on stimulus-funded capital projects. read more |
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San Diego’s National City Terminal Due For Makeover
03/14/2009
Port of San Diego commissioners have signed off on several proposed land use changes for reconfiguring the National City Marine Terminal. The potential changes include turning the area at the entrance to the National Distribution Center into a commercial site and relocating the San Diego County Department of Social Services Children's Bureau. read more |
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What's The Buzz
03/14/2009
Port of Oakland officials report that implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Launch of the program earlier this month went smoothly with less than 5 percent of truckers turned away at the gates for failure to show the required TWIC card ... The Port of Long Beach harbor board last week tentatively approved an increase in the financial incentives shipping lines receive for using low sulfur distillate fuel in their ship engines when arriving or leaving the port ... Carnival Cruise Lines will start calling weekly at the Port of Seattle beginning next year ... CenterPoint Properties has submitted a bid to enter into a 60-year public-private partnership in which it would take over operation of terminals at the Virginia Port Authority. read more |
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Quickie: L.A.-Long Beach Terminals To Eliminate One OffPeak Shift
03/12/2009
Marine terminal operators at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach plan to eliminate one PierPass OffPeak shift per week due to declining cargo volumes. Starting April 6, terminal operators will close either one Thursday 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. shift or one Saturday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift. Since each terminal can choose which shift to eliminate, it will have the flexibility to determine which day will be least disruptive to their customers and operations. read more |
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Oakland Commissioners Approve Ports America 50-Year Lease
03/08/2009
Port of Oakland commissioners have approved a 50-year-concession and lease agreement with Ports America for 175 acres and 4,400 feet of berth at Outer Harbor Berths 20-24. The precedent-setting, public-private partnership is a key to the port's strategy for digging itself out of a deep financial hole by sharing the risk and the rewards with the private sector. read more |
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Gloom, Doom, And More Gloom At Maritime Conference
03/08/2009
Port of Los Angeles board president S. David Freeman welcomed about 1,000 transportation professionals to Los Angeles last week with a talk that acknowledged the port's rather bleak outlook for cargo volumes, citing an 18 percent drop in business in February. Economists and carrier officials speaking at the Trans-Pacific Maritime conference piled on, adding layers of misery for folks in Southern California, the West Coast, the trans-Pacific and everywhere else in the world. read more |
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Freeman Admits Port Was Arrogant – Claims A new Attitude
03/08/2009
Port of Los Angeles board president S. David Freeman acknowledges that many in the U.S. have the image of Californians as arrogant. At last week's Trans-Pacific Maritime conference, he admitted that arrogance may have been an accurate description of the port in the past - but no more. read more |
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Clean Truck War Will Take Years, But Case Marches On
03/08/2009
A federal appellate panel listened to arguments from the American Trucking Associations, the Department of Transportation, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach for half-an-hour Wednesday before taking the ATA's case against the ports' Clean Truck concession programs under submission. The ATA is seeking an injunction against the ports' concession programs. read more |
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Drivers Take Beef To Board; But Boss Says There Is No Beef
03/08/2009
The Clean Trucks Program may be in full swing at the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles, but that doesn't mean the drama is over. At last week's Port of L.A. commission meeting, three truck drivers used the public comment forum to complain about working for Southern Counties Express. read more |
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TWIC Program Gets Off To A Smooth Start At PNW Ports
03/08/2009
The implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program at Pacific Northwest ports went off without a hitch. read more |
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Long Beach Program Would Mitigate Port Pollution
03/08/2009
The Port of Long Beach is putting together guidelines for awarding grants to local schools, daycare centers, healthcare facilities and other entities that are - or could be - affected by port pollution. The port has established a fund for implementation of anti-pollution measures and plans to issue an RFP to solicit proposals in the near future. read more |
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2008 Kicked Seattle’s Cans, But Cruise And Bulk Made It Up
03/08/2009
Despite a 13.6 percent decline in container volume last year, Port of Seattle revenues from its seaport operations exceeded $95 million last year - $7 million over what was expected. Port officials said most of the extra revenues came from retroactive grant money from the Department of Ecology for clean-up of superfund sites at Terminal 5 and Harbor Island. read more |
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What's The Buzz
03/08/2009
The draft EIR for the proposed ICTF expansion/modernization project is on track to be released June 30, and residents of neighboring West Long Beach, along with environmental and health care advocates, are on track to derail the project ... Port of Long Beach employees are wondering if a program to furlough Long Beach city workers also applies to revenue-generating departments such as the port ... Capt. John Cota, the port pilot onboard the Cosco Busan when it ran into the San Francisco Bay Bridge on a foggy day in November 2007, pled guilty in federal court last week to polluting the water. read more |
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Increased Costs To Cover ILWU Benefits Could Impact Ports
03/01/2009
The cost of moving cargo through U.S. West Coast ports could be going up in order to cover longshore pension and health benefits, striking yet another blow to the competitiveness of the West Coast ports. read more |
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Oakland Poised For 50-Year Lease With Ports America
03/01/2009
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PNW Ports Brace For Implementation Of TWIC Program
03/01/2009
The Coast Guard and ports throughout the Pacific Northwest reported a smooth first day of requiring Transportation Worker Identification Credentials on Saturday, when the TWICs became mandatory. But the real test will be Monday - a regular workday - and although port officials are cautiously optimistic that affected terminal users had obtained and activated their TWIC cards, they are still warning local drivers to prepare for the worst. read more |
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State Of Ports: More Competitive, Double-Digit Growth Done
03/01/2009
When Port of Los Angeles executive director Geraldine Knatz and Port of Long Beach executive director Dick Steinke got together on the same dais on Friday, they were agreeing on more things than not. They both acknowledged that it's going to be a while before cargo volumes return to their previous levels and that will be followed by slow growth. read more |
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Cosco Busan Pilot Had Health Problems, Taking Lots Of Meds
03/01/2009
Captain John Cota, the San Francisco Bay ships pilot that was aboard the Cosco Busan when it allided with the Bay Bridge in November 2007, had numerous health problems and was taking a variety of medications. According to National Transportation Safety Board Medical Officer, Cota had a long history of kidney stones, pancreatic disease, headaches, depression, abdominal pain, back pain, glaucoma, and digestive difficulties. He had also struggled in the past with alcoholism and sleep apnea. read more |
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Technology Cluster Seen As Key To L.A. Long Beach Future
03/01/2009
Plans for establishing a technology-based business cluster in the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor area seem to be picking up momentum. Such a cluster would link local businesses and institutions into an economic force, driven by the need to develop and support technology for maritime-related businesses. read more |
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What's The Buzz
03/01/2009
As expected, the Port of Long Beach board last week tentatively approved an incentive program aimed at retaining business and attracting new cargo ... Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilwoman Janice Hahn and Port of Los Angeles board president S. David Freeman were on hand last week for the opening of the Balqon Corp. electric truck manufacturing facility in Harbor City ... More than 1,000 folks are expected to attend the tenth and final Town Hall meeting on international trade and transportation on March 11 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center at Cal State Long Beach. read more |
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Collection Of Truck Fee Begins, Bugs Being Worked Out
02/20/2009
Collection of the clean truck container fee at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach began with a huge traffic jam on Wednesday as technology and human nature collided. But by the next day, collection of the fee began to smooth out as bugs were worked out of the software and humans got used to the new rules for claiming cargo. read more |
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L.A. And Long Beach Ready To Defend Their Turf
02/20/2009
The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach appear to be firing the first shots in what could be the beginning of a port price war to defend their business turf. As expected, the Los Angeles harbor board on Thursday approved its 10 percent tariff discount on all cargo containers that leave the state by rail. The Port of Long Beach has called a special board meeting Monday to act on its own version of a discount program. read more |
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Riverside Sues L.A. – Wants Do-Over Of China Shipping EIR
02/20/2009
The City of Riverside may be more than 50 miles from the Port of Los Angeles, but it has filed a suit claiming that the port should have included the harm done to Riverside in its Environmental Impact Report -certified on Dec. 18 - for expansion of the China Shipping Terminal. The suit claims that the terminal expansion will result in more trains passing through Riverside and asks that the port be required to put together a new EIR that considers the negative impacts on Riverside. read more |
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Zim To Increase Service As Hanjin Cuts Back In Seattle
02/20/2009
The last several weeks have brought both good news and bad news to the Port of Seattle. The bad news is that Hanjin Shipping has downsized its Pacific Northwest service and has cut one of three weekly calls in Seattle effective Feb. 7. read more |
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Long Beach Holds Its Own Despite Economic Downturn
02/20/2009
After experiencing successive record growth the previous four fiscal years, the bubble finally burst for the Port of Long Beach in fiscal year 2008, as operating revenue declined and net income was flat. Container volumes were down with the exception of exports, which rose during the year, much of it attributed to a weak U.S. dollar. read more |
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Financial Bright Spot Of 2008 Starting To Fade In 2009
02/20/2009
Oil operations at the Port of Long Beach provided at least one bright spot in the bleak financial story that began last year for West Coast ports. The port generated a record-setting $87 million in total revenue from its oil operations in fiscal year 2008. Unfortunately, the current fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, isn't likely to be nearly as profitable, and Tidelands Oil Production Co., which operates various oil pipelines for the City of Long Beach's harbor department has already started taking action to mitigate the oncoming decline. read more |
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Train Traffic Down, But Alameda Corridor Still In The Black
02/20/2009
The number of trains that ran on the Alameda Corridor in calendar year 2008 was down nine percent compared with the year before. The cause of the decline is a familiar story these days - it's the economic slowdown that has caused trade volumes to plummet at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. read more |
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L.A. Study: Go For High-Value, Low-Weight Exports
02/20/2009
If the Port of Los Angeles wants to grow its exports, opportunity is knocking to boost trade with nations such as India and the Philippines in addition to increasing the goods it ships to its top trading partners of China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. As for the cargo itself, the port should diversify its exports to include higher value commodities that weigh less than the scrap metal and waste paper products that have dominated its exports. read more |
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Mexican Ports Eyed As Fees Pile On At L.A./Long Beach
02/20/2009
The investment opportunities in Mexico related to the expansion of the Port of Guaymas and the proposed development of a new port at Punta Colonet were touted Thursday at a seminar in Long Beach, which drew about 60 people. read more |
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What's The Buzz
02/20/2009
The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded that there is plenty of blame to go around for the Nov. 2007 allision between the Cosco Busan container ship and the San Francisco Bay Bridge, which resulted in more than 53,000 gallons of bunker fuel spilling into the bay ... The Port of Los Angeles is dumping a provision in one of its tariffs that adds a 15 percent service charge when the port furnishes electrical power to vessels at wharves ... Port of Tacoma officials say about 86 percent of the 3,100 drayage trucks serving the port have 1994 or newer engines - putting them in compliance with 2010 goals established by the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy. read more |
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Quickie: Hundreds Turned Away On First Day Of Clean Truck Container Fee
02/18/2009
Hundreds of trucks attempting to enter marine terminals at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach were turned away today - the first day for collecting the ports' clean truck container fee - for not having the required workable radio frequency ID tags. The RFID tags are a component of a new electronic gate access system to improve security at shipping terminals and to aid in the fee collection through the PortCheck system. read more |
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L.A. May Offer 10% Discount On Tariff For Rail Containers
02/15/2009
The Port of Los Angeles is proposing an incentive program aimed at persuading ocean carriers to bring their discretionary cargo through L.A. and not other gateways. The Harbor Commission will consider approval on Thursday of an IPI (Inland Point Intermodal) Program that would give container terminals a one-year, 10 percent discount on import and export containers that move by rail to or from locations outside of California. read more |
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Trucks Too Dirty For California May Be OK For PNW
02/15/2009
A non-profit organization in the Pacific Northwest is putting finishing touches on a deal to buy 500 older model trucks that are destined for scrap yards in California and retrofit them for use in the drayage business in the Port of Seattle, the Port of Tacoma and other Northwest ports. read more |
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Residents Give Lots Of Advice And Little Consent On ICTF
02/15/2009
Residents of West Long Beach and others had lots of advice last week on how to prepare the draft EIR for expanding the Union Pacific rail yard in their part of town. Some of their suggestions may not make Union Pacific, the Port of Long Beach or the Port of Los Angeles too happy. They range from doing health assessments on all the people who live in the area to analyzing the effect of the ICTF upgrade on property values - and everything in between. read more |
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SCIG Plan Also Getting Ready For Public Scrutiny
02/15/2009
A draft EIR is expected to be released in late spring or early summer for BNSF's Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) - nearly four years after the NOP was released for that project. Like its Union Pacific Intermodal Container Transfer Facility counterpart, the $300 million BNSF project would have the capacity to handle up to 1.5 million TEUs annually. read more |
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What's the Buzz
02/15/2009
International Longshore and Warehouse Local 514 and waterfront employers at West Coast British Columbia ports have reached a tentative labor agreement for about 450 dock and ship foremen. ... Washington State Rep. Doug Ericksen introduced a bill last week that would require the Board of Pilotage Commissioners to work with the state Utilities and Transportation Commission when it set tariff rates for pilots ... With the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach kicking off their Clean Truck container fee on Wednesday, the Federal Maritime Commission is warning them that it plans to monitor the process. read more |
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Pier 400 Oil Terminal Appeal – Port Of Los Angeles Fires Back
02/15/2009
The Port of Los Angeles has answered a three-page appeal challenging its certification of the environmental document for a proposed marine oil terminal with a 42-page response. In its detailed reply, the port argues that the appeal - filed by the Wilmington-based Coalition for a Safe Environment - is factually inaccurate and has no legal merit. read more |
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Shipping Lines That Plug In May Get Break On Bill For Juice
02/15/2009
Shipping lines that cold iron at the Port of Los Angeles may soon be seeing a reduction in their electric bill. The power for the port's Alternative Maritime Power program comes from the City Department of Water and Power. read more |
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Sunny View For Reducing Carbon Footprint At Long Beach
02/15/2009
The Port of Long Beach may have a significant opportunity to reduce its carbon footprint through solar power, but there are also economic and practical limits to how much power can be gathered by the sun, according to a presentation given to the port board. The board has scheduled a study session within 30 days to explore some of those possibilities and limitations. read more |
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Long Beach Debuts Its New Command And Control Center
02/15/2009
Seven and a half years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks placed a new emphasis on safety and security at West Coast seaports, the Port of Long Beach has opened a state-of-the-art security command center. read more |
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Hybrid Hostlers Will Strut Their Stuff At LBCT
02/15/2009
The Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles will partner with Long Beach Container Terminal, a yard hostler manufacturer, and a hybrid drive systems supplier to test day-to-day operations of hybrid yard hostlers. read more |
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Quickie: FMC Says It Plans To Monitor Clean Truck Fee Collections
02/12/2009
The Federal Maritime Commission released a statement today acknowledging that collection of the Clean Truck container fee at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach will begin soon, but warning the parties involved that it will be monitoring the process. Collection of the container fee - $35 for a twenty-foot container, $70 for anything larger - is scheduled to commence at 8 a.m. next Wednesday. read more |
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All Systems Appear To Be Go For Clean Truck Fee Launch
02/08/2009
The often-delayed Clean Truck Fee - which had been planned to go into effect at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach on Oct. 1, 2008 - appears to be on track for an 8 a.m. Feb. 18 launch. Early estimates were that the two ports would collect about $1 million a day from the $70 per 40-foot container fee. If those estimates were correct, the price tag for the delays will total more than $140 million at the two ports. read more |
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BNSF Express Service Enhances Competition For PNW Ports
02/08/2009
A new express rail service to and from the Pacific Northwest may heighten competition between the ports of Seattle and Tacoma and the Port of Prince Rupert, BC. The service, announced by the BNSF Railway Company in mid-January, will shave a day off BNSF's current schedule into Chicago and Memphis, railroad officials say. read more |
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Prince Rupert Poised To Make Big Dent In West Coast Volumes
02/08/2009
While U.S. West Coast ports reported across-the-board container losses last year, the tiny Port of Prince Rupert, BC recorded 988 percent growth. Even though the Fairview Terminal handled only 181,890 TEUs during its first full year of operations, that volume may have exacerbated losses generated by the global recession and contributed to the double digit declines at the ports of Long Beach and Seattle. read more |
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Environmental Impact Reports Queue Up At L.A.-Long Beach
02/08/2009
Look for 2009 to be a busy year at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach with both ports looking at a long list of environmental documents coming up for review and approval. The outlook for individual projects was presented at a Propeller Club breakfast by Lena Maun-DeSantis from the Port of Los Angeles and Rick Cameron from the Port of Long Beach. read more |
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Is Security Device Faulty Or Just Politically Incorrect?
02/08/2009
The Port of Los Angeles has given a Chinese company two weeks to show that the Mobile Linear Accelerator X-ray Scanning Unit it built performs according to specification. The commissioners were poised to cancel the contract last week, but reconsidered after hearing from the company president and its lawyer. read more |
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San Diego Posts Voluntary 12-Knot Speed Limit For Ships
02/08/2009
The Port of San Diego last week became the latest Southern California port to offer a voluntary program for cruise and cargo ship operators to reduce vessel speeds when entering and exiting the bay. Reduced vessel speeds mean that less harmful emissions will be pumped into the air. read more |
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Seattle Asks Experts For Advice On How To Stay Competitive
02/08/2009
In the wake of a 13 percent decline in container volumes and growing competition from Canadian and Mexican ports, Port of Seattle commissioners turned to the private sector last week for advice on how to remain viable during the economic downturn. read more |
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Seattle Staff To Take 2 Unpaid Weeks To Balance Budget
02/08/2009
In an effort to reduce a projected $9 million budget deficit, the Port of Seattle has told its non-union employees to take two weeks off without pay during 2009. The two-week furloughs are expected to impact about half of the port's 1,700 non-union employees and save the port about $2.9 million. Union employees have been asked to adopt measures to cut an additional $2.9 million from the budget, and the port has slashed travel budgets by half. In addition, more than 100 vacant positions will be left open indefinitely. read more |
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What's The Buzz
02/08/2009
Container terminals at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach plan to shut down their Feb. 16 day shift for the President's Day Holiday, but they plan to honor their commitments to man the 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. PierPass night-gates, which will remain open... The Port of Coos Bay appears to be ready to purchase its 120-mile short-line railroad connecting the coast to Eugene after the Oregon Economic and Community Development Commission agreed to provide a $12.6 million loan... The latest economic impact study for the Port of Seattle shows that seaport operations - including cargo, fisheries and cruise services - generated an estimated 56,255 total jobs in 2007. read more |
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West Coast Ports Wishing And Hoping For Stimulus Funds
02/01/2009
Ports up and down the West Coast - with their long and well-crafted wish lists at the ready - are eagerly awaiting word on the $825 billion recovery package approved almost two weeks ago by the House of Representatives. The measure, which contains a number of provisions that suggest some of those big bucks will go to the nation's ports, is now in the Senate. read more |
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Los Angeles Seeking A Little Green For Its Projects
02/01/2009
The Port of Los Angeles is looking for federal stimulus money to continue its efforts to clean up the environment through its clean truck program, its plan to cold iron ships, and to build a green technology center. read more |
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Long Beach Wants Help Replacing Bridge To Everywhere
02/01/2009
The big item on the Port of Long Beach wish list for the anticipated $825 billion stimulus funding package is the Gerald Desmond Bridge, connecting Terminal Island to downtown Long Beach and more importantly to the Long Beach (710) Freeway north. Estimated cost of the project: $1.1 billion. read more |
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Oakland Has A List, Other Northern Cal Ports Are Just Wishing
02/01/2009
The folks at the Port of Oakland - which was facing a financial crunch even before the economy went south - says it has a number of projects that could help stimulate the economy and provide jobs. read more |
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San Diego Looking For Stimulus Funds, Hueneme Just Looking
02/01/2009
Port of San Diego spokesman John Gilmore said that the port plans to ask for an appropriation of about $1 billion as part of President Obama's eagerly anticipated economic stimulus package. Gilmore explained the huge figure by saying that the initial package of projects includes virtually all the port's major maintenance and infrastructure projects and "green" projects. read more |
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Some PNW Ports Seeking Funds, Others Seeking Guidance
02/01/2009
The ports of Tacoma, Seattle, Everett and Vancouver, Washington have joined forces to send a letter to Governor Christine Gregoire outlining what they think should be criteria for projects to be funded with federal economic stimulus funds. In writing to the governor early last month, they suggested several criteria, including: "ready to go" projects that create jobs immediately, projects that create long-term economic growth potential, and projects that create family wage jobs for "a broad range of citizens of different employment and experience levels." read more |
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Sonora Officials In Long Beach To Pitch Port Opportunities
02/01/2009
A delegation of both private and public folks from the Mexican State of Sonora were in Long Beach last week, talking about plans to build a container terminal at the Port of Guaymas on the Sea of Cortez and pitching the possibilities that it and other projects hold for American investors. The Mexican government plans to issue a Request for Proposals for the project by June. read more |
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Times Tough, But Long Beach Looks For Cargo Comeback
02/01/2009
The Port of Long Beach, reeling from a double-digit throughput decrease rooted in the current global economic slump, intends to rebound by focusing on infrastructure improvements and environmental initiatives, port Executive Director Dick Steinke said during his annual State of the Port address last Friday. read more |
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Richmond Police Writing Traffic Tickets For Trains
02/01/2009
A $5,000 arrest warrant has been issued in Richmond for a BNSF freight train conductor over an incident in December when the railroader was cited by Richmond police for blocking a roadway with his mile-long train. The warrant was issued after the conductor failed to show up for his arraignment. The Richmond City Attorney's office has been cracking down on the railroads over noise and blocking intersections in the industrial city 15 miles northeast of San Francisco. read more |
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TWIC PIN Resets May Require New Cards
02/01/2009
As the nationwide deadline for transportation workers to have their TWIC cards draws closer, the long-beleaguered program has hit yet another snag. read more |
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What's The Buzz
02/01/2009
Another fatality on the waterfront, this time at the Port of Long Beach where 36-year-old port trucker Pablo Garcia was killed Wednesday ... An oil tanker outbound for Ecuador that lost power in San Francisco Bay Tuesday just west of the Golden Gate Bridge had to be escorted back to shore for repairs ... The Port of Seattle moved a record 6.4 million metric tons of corn, soybeans and sorghum during 2008 - an increase of 20 percent over 2007. read more |
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Clean Truck Legal Battle About To Boil Over
01/25/2009
The Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach clean-truck legal battles continue to bubble with all sides jostling for position. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral arguments on March 4 in the American Trucking Associations request for a preliminary injunction against the two ports' concession plans. read more |
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ATA President: We Will ‘Vigorously Defend’ Our Rights
01/25/2009
American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves was in Southern California last week pledging ATA support for a clean environment, but vowing to defend the industry's right to be free from state and local intrusion. Graves, the governor of Kansas from 1995 to 2003, made his comments at a Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce luncheon. read more |
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Market Forces Pushing L.A. Container Volumes Down
01/25/2009
With some of the 2008 numbers still waiting to be crunched, Los Angeles port officials are already attributing sliding cargo volumes to the economy and not to other market forces at West Coast ports. read more |
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Long Beach Suffers Biggest Single-Year Decline In 20 Years
01/25/2009
The Port of Long Beach suffered its biggest single-year decline in more than 20 years in 2008, as cargo shipments through the port dropped 11.3 percent to 6.5 million TEUs, down from 7.3 million units the year before. read more |
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Pacific Northwest Ports Post Mixed Results For 2008
01/25/2009
Although containerized trade through the Pacific Northwest ports dropped during 2008, some ports were much less affected by the recession than others. The Port of Tacoma made it through 2008 with the lowest decline of any West Coast port, while the Port of Seattle recorded the largest decrease of any port in the West. read more |
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Business Community Must Be A Rational Voice For Development
01/25/2009
Representatives of engineering, construction, environmental and consulting firms heard about government and utility contract opportunities Friday at a one-day "Surviving the Recession" conference in Carson. read more |
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Foss’ Diesel-Electric Hybrid Tug Debuts In Long Beach
01/25/2009
Under cold, windy and rainy skies, Seattle-based Foss Maritime on Jan. 23 introduced the first-ever diesel-electric hybrid tugboat. The unveiling came during a ceremony at the Foss berth on Pier D at the Port of Long Beach. read more |
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What's The Buzz
01/25/2009
The Port of Oakland has put out a Request for Qualifications seeking a private-sector partner interested in negotiating a master lease agreement of at least 30 years for a 168-acre portion of the former Oakland Army Base... Congressman Jerrold Nadler, whose district represents part of Manhattan and Brooklyn, has written an opinion piece in the New York Daily News calling for ports back there to adopt clean truck plans similar to the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach... The Zhen Hua 26 is due to arrive in Commencement Bay today bringing two new super post-Panamax container cranes for the Washington United Terminal at the Port of Tacoma. read more |
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Quickie: Court To Hear Oral Arguments In ATA vs. Ports On March 4
01/22/2009
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal has scheduled oral arguments for March 4 in the case brought by the American Trucking Associations against the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach over their clean truck concession programs. read more |
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Ports Look Forward To Support From New Administration
01/18/2009
West Coast seaports are optimistic that the Obama administration and the 111th Congress is likely to be supportive of seaports and goods movement projects in the years ahead. read more |
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Year-End Container Stats Paint Grim Picture In California
01/18/2009
It used to be that when the year-end stats on West Coast container volumes were posted, the question would be how much each port was up and whose market share went up and whose went down. Now the issue is how much is everybody down and how long before the current free-fall in trade hits bottom. read more |
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FMC Says Ports’ Clean Truck Plans Under Its Jurisdiction
01/18/2009
The Federal Maritime Commission last week filed its reply to separate motions filed in December by the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach asking federal Judge Richard Leon to dismiss the agency's case against the two ports over their Clean Truck Programs. Despite claims by the ports, their Clean Truck Programs are clearly within FMC jurisdiction, the agency argues in its filing. read more |
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Pacific Los Angeles Marine Oil Terminal Approval Appealed
01/18/2009
The Wilmington-based Coalition for A Safe Environment has appealed certification of the environmental impact report and project approval of the Pacific Los Angeles Marine Oil Terminal proposed for Pier 400 at the Port of Los Angeles. read more |
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What Are The Odds The CASE Appeal Will Go Forward?
01/18/2009
The Los Angeles City Council Committee on Trade, Commerce and Tourism is considering the recent appeal to the Pacific Los Angeles Marine Oil Terminal EIR, which was approved in November after seven years of contention. The appeal brings with it memories and implications of the TraPac EIR process and a subsequent appeal from community organizations. The appeal of the TraPac EIR was withdrawn after a settlement was reached that established a $52 million mitigation fund and allowed construction to go forward. read more |
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TWIC Deadline Coming On, Technology Still Lagging Behind
01/18/2009
With the April 14 deadline looming for anyone who needs unescorted access to secure areas and vessels at U.S. ports to have a Transportation Worker Identification Credential card, the technology required to read the cards is not quite yet in place. read more |
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San Diego Now TWIC Compliant, No Major Problems Reported
01/18/2009
It's been relatively smooth sailing for the Port of San Diego, which on Dec. 30, 2008 became the first West Coast port to implement the federal Transportation Worker Identification Credential program. By April 14, 2009 the TWIC cards will be mandatory for unescorted access to secure areas of maritime facilities and vessels throughout the U.S. read more |
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What's The Buzz
01/18/2009
Representatives from the British Columbia Maritime Employer's Association and the ILWU Local 514 met again last Thursday to talk about a new labor contract and intend to meet again next Friday... The Port of Long Beach plans to push its Green Port message at the Long Beach Grand Prix on April 15-17 with the port once again sponsoring the official pace car - a green Toyota Prius with a Green Port message wrap... Port of Seattle commissioners may soon be asked to consider a $300 million investment in the replacement of a mile-long section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. read more |
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Swift Payment To Trucking Giant Peeves Little Guys
01/11/2009
The Port of Los Angeles has made its first clean truck program incentive payment - a check for $8.24 million to Swift Transportation, Inc., issued last Wednesday. read more |
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eModal Loses Drayage Truck Registry Gig To Natoma
01/11/2009
Four months into a contract with eModal.com LLC, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach are turning to a different company to develop their permanent Drayage Truck Registry. read more |
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Freeman Tires Of Talkers – He’s Looking For Action
01/11/2009
If Los Angeles Harbor Commission President S. David Freeman has his way, the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach will decide what they want in the form of an alternative cargo mover system and lobby for it in the federal transportation bill of 2009. read more |
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COSCO BUSAN Spill Is Old News, But The Lawsuits Keep Coming
01/11/2009
California State Attorney General Jerry Brown on Tuesday filed suit against the owners and operators of the Cosco Busan and the port pilot onboard the ship when it sideswiped the San Francisco Bay Bridge and spilled 53,000 gallons of bunker fuel back in November 2007. It is just the latest litigation over the incident, which has called into question the piloting system for guiding ships into and out of the Bay Area and the massive liability when something goes wrong. read more |
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Long Beach 2007 Air Inventory: Pollution Down In Most Cases
01/11/2009
Ships, trucks, trains, harbor craft, and cargo-handling equipment operating at the Port of Long Beach and beyond generated significantly less diesel soot, sulfur oxides, and hydrocarbons in 2007, than in 2005, according to an air emissions inventory to be presented to the port board today. The reason cited by port's environmental planning division for the dramatic decrease was wider usage of ultra-low sulfur diesel at the port during 2007. read more |
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TTX Report: Container Trade Will Begin To Grow Again In 2010
01/11/2009
Container export growth in the U.S. and Canada will likely be slow and import growth will be negative during 2009 as the global economy weakens and the dollar bottoms out, but both should be on the road to recovery in 2010, according to a new economic overview prepared by rail equipment provider TTX Co. read more |
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Old Ship Looking For New Home In Seattle
01/11/2009
Port of Seattle officials are still looking for another home for the Matson Kauai, which has been laid up at Seattle's Pier 66 cruise terminal since October 20. The Marriott Hotel and Anthony's Restaurant, which have spectacular views of Puget Sound, have been complaining since December that the 28-year-old containership is an eyesore and is driving business away. But as of last week's board meeting, a perfect site had not been found. read more |
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What's The Buzz
01/11/2009
Tough week in the storm-battered Pacific Northwest as snow, rains, and flooding impeded the movement of goods as well as everything else ... A strike that could shut down Port Metro Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert is off for at least another few days ... The Joint Powers Authority that governs the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility has released its Notice of Preparation for the proposed modernization and expansion of the near-dock railyard five miles north of the ports. read more |
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Quickie: Washington Reopens Highways, Rail Should Be Open Soon
01/09/2009
The Washington Department of Transportation has reopened Interstate 5 south of the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma and Interstate 90 that carries cargo eastward from the ports. read more |
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Quickie: Tacoma Port Avoids Flood, But Some Roads, Rail Lines Still Closed
01/08/2009
Officials at the Port of Tacoma are breathing a sigh of relief after averting a feared flood, but portions of two major highways serving the port and one major rail line remain closed due to flooding or feared avalanches. read more |
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Quickie: PierPass Backs Off On Shutdown Of Saturday Gates
01/08/2009
PierPass has reversed its decision to remove Saturdays from its offering of OffPeak truck gates at container terminals in the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach. The last PierPass OffPeak Saturday gate would have been two days from now. read more |
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Quickie: NOL Moving Americas HQ From Oakland To Phoenix
01/07/2009
Although APL ships will continue to call in Oakland, Seattle and Los Angeles, the shipping line's parent company - Neptune Orient Lines - is moving its Americas headquarters from Oakland to Phoenix as part of a "global strategy to place its cost structure on a more sustainable footing in the face of the current economic downturn..." read more |
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Economy In Slump, But L.A. Plans To Push Forward On Projects
01/04/2009
A sluggish economy expected to last well into 2009 will not derail more than $400 million dollars worth of infrastructure projects that the Port of Los Angeles has under construction or is on the verge of building right now. In fact, the port is planning to release a brochure advertising more than 6,000 construction jobs associated with ongoing port development projects. read more |
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Ports Target February For New Clean Truck Container Fee
01/04/2009
After a long series of delays in implementation of the San Pedro Bay clean truck fee, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach are eagerly looking to the time they can begin collecting the fee. Every day collection of the fee is delayed costs the ports about $1 million in lost revenues. read more |
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L.A. Clean Truck Incentive Payments Due To Go Out This Month
01/04/2009
The Port of Los Angeles expects to begin paying out the $20,000-per-truck incentive money this month to licensed motor carriers that spent their own money on 2007 emissions compliant harbor drayage trucks ahead of the Jan. 1, 2012 mandate to have the trucks in place. read more |
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PierPass To Cut Saturday Gates Because Of Low Cargo Volume
01/04/2009
Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach marine terminal operators will suspend Saturday OffPeak shifts due to declining cargo volume. The last Saturday OffPeak shift will be Jan. 10. read more |
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Long Beach Port Projects Would Help Stimulate Economy
01/04/2009
The global economy may have slowed significantly and shipping volume in 2008 may have been down at some West Coast seaports, but the Port of Long Beach believes it has the solution to reversing its own downward trend - infrastructure development. read more |
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Long Beach Forecast For 2009 – Not So Fine
01/04/2009
The Port of Long Beach, which saw its throughput decline in 2008, is poised for another volume drop in 2009 due to several factors, including a fall-off of demand for imported Asian goods and a decline in Asian demand for scrap paper. read more |
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Exports Improve The Long Beach Economic Picture – A Little
01/04/2009
One bright spot for the Port of Long Beach in its recent dark economic report has been agricultural product exports, a sector that traditionally has not made up a large part of the port's business. In the first nine months of 2008, poultry exports were up from 1,095 TEUs in 2007 to 2,843 TEUs- a 159 percent increase. read more |
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What's The Buzz
01/04/2009
Work on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge is under way once again, now that three unions have settled their four-day turf-tiff over who gets to unload steel bridge parts from a Chinese ship ... International Longshore and Warehouse Union members and waterfront employers, represented by the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, returned to the bargaining table in Vancouver, B.C., over the weekend in an attempt to avert a threatened strike at the Port Metro Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert ... The good news at the Port of Los Angeles is that the latest air emissions inventory shows that 2007 pollution levels at the port were significantly down. read more |
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Port of Seattle Looks For Another Home For Laid-Up Ship
01/04/2009
Port of Seattle officials are looking for another temporary home for a laid-up containership that some downtown Seattle businesses say is an eyesore. Operators of the Marriot Hotel and of Anthony's Restaurant have complained that the ship is hurting their businesses - both of which tout waterfront views. The vintage 1980 Matson Kauai has been sitting at Berth 66 since late October when Matson officials removed the ship from its Seattle-to-Hawaii service due to reduced shipping demands. read more |
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