Tag Archives: container shipping

Empty containers become a focal point in push to ease Los Angeles port congestion

Posted on January 27, 2022 by | Leave a comment

The Port of LA has too many empty containers sitting around. They are taking up space that could be moved to ease the congestion in the terminals.

But terminals can’t be made to clear the empties. And ocean carriers may not be in a hurry to move them out to pick up more cargo. It’s almost as cheap to simply build new containers for the exports in China.

So what to do? That’s what the Port and the terminal operators are wrrestling with. They can’t all be made into container houses. And it seems we are seeing refusals of ag exports using them.

Perhaps we should consider scrapping them and resell the steel, as we do with old ships. The Port could charge the container owner for the scrapping work, and keep the scrap steel money.

It’s not just emissions from container shipping that have sustainability problems. Too many containers littering the landscape is not sustainable either. It’s as if your Amazon packages arrived daily, but you had nowhere to dump the boxes; soon your house would be full of cardboard. And unlike containers, the Amazon boxes fold up!!

If ocean carriers and the container shipping business are serious about ESG concerns, stopping dumping empty containers on the importing countries seems like an easy place to start to improve things

Published Nov. 17, 2021 Edwin Lopez

https://www.supplychaindive.com/news/empty-containers-ease-congestion-port-of-los-angeles/610171/

Like our remarks? We don’t take ads, and don’t just publish press releases. We try to curate articles of significance to maritime trade and logistics both domestic and international. Please donate to our blog!

Leave a comment

Posted in Logistics, Shipping, Supply Chains

Tagged , , , ,

Pasha Hawaii teams with Costco on chartering spree

Posted on January 24, 2022 by | 1 comment

Costco is another firm that has decided to figure out how to move its imports without help from the ocean shipping alliances. It is working with Pasha Hawaii to charter box ships. according to the article, Costco is now in a position to move 20% of imports using its own fleet.

That will give Costco a lot more freedom to choose routes and drop-off points. Perhaps they can choose landings where congestion is lower, or where they can get guaranteed times for drop-off.

It will be interesting to see what they do about containers. But it’s easy to buy containers made in China for the export trade. And it’s almost cheaper than returning the empties to China and the Far East.

Sam Chambers January 24, 2022

Pasha Hawaii teams with Costco on chartering spree – Splash247
Like our remarks? We don’t take ads, and don’t just publish press releases. We try to curate articles of significance to maritime trade and logistics both domestic and international. Please donate to our blog!

1 Comment

Posted in Logistics, Shipping, Supply Chains

Tagged , , , , ,

New York approaches biggest US container port title as west coast imports flatline

Posted on January 24, 2022 by | Leave a comment

Why are people choosing New York/New Jersey to import containers?

One concern is the congestion and delay, averaging 18 days according to the article, at the West Coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Apparently throughput has reached a max there, and is unlikely to improve much.

Actually, ‘approaches’ is a good word. New York’s throughput is still below Los Angeles, by 411,000 to 417,000. But the trend in LA is down, markedly, and the trend in NY is up, so maybe a switch will happen soon. LA doesn’t have many short-term options for improving throughput.

Another concern of shippers is the possibility of labor actions on the West Coast. Historically, longshoreman unions and port terminal representatives have been confrontational on the West Coast. Since the ports are biggest, strikes there or slowdowns would have a serious effect on commerce. and that’s the point of strikes and slowdowns– to bring maximum pressure on the port and terminal representatives to make concessions. It is likely that there will be some kerfuffle. But it’s not clear that anyone wants a total stoppage or serious constriction of traffic. And it’s a major political nightmare too. Presidents in the past have declared states of emergency to keep people at work and the cargo moving. So I think something will be worked out.

When will New York/New Jersey reach its congestion threshhold, and ships start backing up?

It could be good news that the flush of demand for imports may be abating a bit as shippers think through how to realign their supply needs to reduce the pressure on their supply chains. More regular and predictable supply may be the outcome.

By Mike Wackett 24/01/2022

New York nudges biggest US container port title as west coast imports flatline – The Loadstar
Like our remarks? We don’t take ads, and don’t just publish press releases. We try to curate articles of significance to maritime trade and logistics both domestic and international. Please donate to our blog!

Leave a comment

Posted in Labor Economics, Logistics, Ports, Shipping, Supply Chains

Tagged , , , , ,