Tag Archives: ocean shipping

Ocean lines should compensate shippers, truckers forced to store containers because of port congestion

Posted on August 11, 2022 by | 2 comments

The FMC chairman has made his position known.

One of the big hassles in container shipping right now is the unfair treatment of drayage drivers. They are often forced to wait because of inadequate capacity at ports. And this is directly traceable to the advent of large ships, which take longer to unload and which result in large numbers of empty containers cluttering up ports. When there are too many containers, the port operations are delayed and cannot be efficient, so often the terminals close their doors to returning containers. They are usually empty.

So the drivers are stuck with them. Or the warehouses and distribution centers wait to return them till they can get in. The time windows for return are not coordinated across the supply chain players, so it’s kind of random whether they can get them in. https://splash247.com/truck-drivers-at-port-of-baltimore-protest-long-waits-at-container-terminal/

Then we compound it with the fact that it’s not that useful for the ocean carrier to pick them up for return to an exporting location. It’s almost easier to build a new one in China, say for the next load. Also, an empty container takes up a slot on the ship that could be used for paying cargo. Remember that ocean routes are closed loops with pickups and deliveries along the way. Each stop presents a new version of a loading problem to be solved.

Yet many containers are owned by the ocean shipping lines. So they are responsible for them. https://splash247.com/us-east-coast-empty-container-congestion-due-to-lack-of-accountability-fmc-commissioner/

The FMC will look at whether the ocean carriers need to reimburse other supply chain participants for any delays suffered when they can’t return the containers on time. And the carriers have to be more diligent about picking up empties. That’s something the FMC should be able to influence. The carriers will squeal. But they have to start cleaning up their leftovers.

It’s a good article to keep in mind.

Kim Biggar August 8, 2022

FMC chairman says lines should compensate shippers, truckers forced to store containers because of port congestion – Splash247

August 10, 2022

By Margherita Bruno

Empty container congestion creates ‘double whammy’

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Posted in Logistics, Shipping, Supply Chains

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New container imbalance fee to minimise congestion due to excess empty containers

Posted on August 3, 2022 by | 1 comment

Port Authority of NY and NJ have announced a new container fee payable by ocean carriers. The fee will be levied when the outbound containers don’t exceed inbound containers by 110% in the same period. The port authority also plans to find additional space to store containers near the port, and already has identified 12 acres on the port.

It seems that these two measures are what works to reduce congestion. The same two kinds of measures were invoked at the Port of LA and Port of Long Beach to get ocean lines to start moving empties out. In California, though, the container fees were just threatened; they never were begun. that alone was enough for ocean carriers to start moving containers out.

Perhaps we have found a credible set of options to get container carriers to move those boxes.

Kim BiggarAugust 3, 2022

Port Authority of NY and NJ announces new container imbalance fee to minimise congestion due to excess empty containers – Splash247

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Carriers ‘must commit to berthing windows’

Posted on July 31, 2022 by | 1 comment

Terminal congestion in Europe is high, even though there are fewer containers being handled than a year ago.

Ocean carriers handle congestion by skipping calls, and landing the containers at smaller ports, then sending them by land to their final destination. Skipping calls fouls up schedules for everyone, and makes it impossible to plan for increased capacity. It’s a nightmare situation for port terminal scheduling and for much of the hinterland service logistics, such as barge, rail and truck.

Another source of congestion is containers sitting in ports, often empty, awaiting movement elsewhere.

Almost everyone believes ocean carriers ought to improve on keeping schedules and sailing when they planned, meeting commitments made in advance to the terminals they intend to stop at. When there’s little excess capacity, altering schedules throws all the downstream logistics plans out of whack. It is like a bullwhip effect; when a ship skips, all the efforts planned to handle those cargoes is wasted, and has to be reorganized as best it can for what is believed to be the next round of deliveries. Keeping entire supply chains in a quandary does not lead to efficient logistics in the hinterland.

Ocean carriers are averaging about 30-40% ontime deliveries right now, and their on-time percentage has been excruciatingly low for a couple of years. No land-based logistics service could stay in business with these kinds of numbers.

In order to get ocean carriers to commit to scheduled berthings, ports are going to have to share information about berth window schedules. If this data were more public, comparisons could be made and carriers that routinely missed their slots could be penalized by getting deferred when they wanted to berth elsewhere. Getting liners to commit to berthing schedules requires cooperation among ports.

By Mike Wackett 27/07/2022

Carriers ‘must commit to berthing windows’ as N Europe ports see volumes fall – The Loadstar

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Posted in Logistics, Shipping, Supply Chains

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