container imports

Maritime sector nervous about chances for COVID-19 relief

U.S. ports and terminal operators hope a last-ditch effort on Capitol Hill will send emergency funding their way as lawmakers put the final touches on the next COVID-19 relief package.

Such relief has so far eluded the maritime sector, which has been frustrated watching other transportation modes such as public transit and the airlines get billions of dollars from the previous two COVID-19 relief bills signed during the Trump administration.

“The port industry has yet to receive any relief in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/maritime-sector-nervous-about-chances-for-covid-19-relief

Regulators ask Biden for ‘immediate’ dockworker vaccinations

The wave of dockworkers testing positive for COVID-19 up and down the U.S. coasts has prompted maritime regulators to seek help directly from the White House.

In a letter sent Thursday to President Joe Biden, Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Commissioners Carl Bentzel and Daniel Maffei asked that in addition to prioritizing dockworkers for vaccines – which they requested from the Trump administration in December – they should be given access, in the interim, to rapid testing to minimize port...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/regulators-ask-biden-for-immediate-dockworker-vaccinations

2020 closes with plenty (of freight) left in the tank

Chart of the Week:  Daily Customs Shipments, Outbound Tender Reject Index – USA SONAR: CSTM.USA, OTRI.USA

This final 2020 edition of the chart of the week combines the two most relevant statistics of the year: maritime import shipments and tender rejection rates. Before the pandemic, the two measures had little connection to each other. In 2019, container imports had time to sit in warehouses as shippers were able to plan and prepare for seasonal purchasing patterns to reemerge, allowing them to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/2020-closes-with-plenty-of-freight-left-in-the-tank

Christmas vacation will exacerbate supply chain bottlenecks

Chart of the Week:  Weekly Customs Import Shipments – USA, Logistics Managers’ Index – Warehouse Capacity SONAR: WCSTM.USA, LMI.WHCP

If you thought 2020 would go quietly into that good night, you haven’t been paying much attention. Many people have posted on social media that they are ready for this year to end, as if the problems of the year created by the COVID-19 pandemic will suddenly disappear with the turning of the calendar page. One headache that appears to be staying with us at least...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/christmas-vacation-will-exacerbate-supply-chain-bottlenecks

FMC commissioners want maritime workers on COVID-19 vaccine priority list

Two high-ranking maritime officials are warning the Trump administration that the U.S. economy could be in danger if efforts are not made to prioritize COVID-19 testing and vaccines for maritime workers.

Carl Bentzel and Daniel Maffei, commissioners at the Federal Maritime Commission, said in a letter to Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and U.S. Maritime Administrator Mark Buzby that if priority is not provided to the workforce at U.S. ports, it...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/fmc-commissioners-want-maritime-workers-on-covid-19-vaccine-priority-list

West Coast imports slowing; trucking and rail volumes remain strong

Chart of the Week:  Customs Import Shipments, Outbound Tender Volume Index, Outbound Loaded Rail Containers – Los Angeles SONAR: CSTM.LAX, OTVI.LAX, ORAILL.LAX

Daily U.S. import shipments clearing the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been trending lower over the past eight weeks after peaking in early September. Import shipment volumes have exceeded the previous two years consistently since about mid-July. These figures are starting to move closer to the previous year, which should mean...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/west-coast-imports-slowing-trucking-and-rail-volumes-remain-strong

NY ports tout $250,000/year driver pay in supporting under-21 CDLs

Truck drivers between the ages of 18 and 21 could be given the keys to a lucrative blue-collar career hauling ocean containers to and from terminals operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) if regulators lift commercial driver license (CDL) restrictions, according to the agency.

In comments filed this week with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in support of a pilot program allowing under-21 drivers to get an interstate CDL, PANYNJ Deputy Port...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/ny-ports-tout-250000year-driver-pay-in-supporting-under-21-cdls

Australian shippers say COVID restrictions could delay container shipments

Aerial view of the Port of Melbourne, which could suffer work slowdowns because of new COVID safety measures.

Australian freight forwarders and shippers, worried about the potential loss of business, are seeking flexibility from new lockdown measures to contain an outbreak of coronavirus in Victoria.

The state restrictions impact warehouses, as well as container depots, and terminal operations at the Port of Melbourne and Melbourne airport.

Trade groups are asking government officials to clarify that import and export businesses will be designated an essential service. They also are proposing alternative...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/australian-shippers-say-covid-restrictions-could-delay-container-shipments

Commentary: COVID-19 severely impacts the ‘Blue Economy’

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates. 

Since the beginnings of COVID-19, the political rhetoric masking the severity and economic impact of the virus has piled up to levels we have not seen since the U.S.-China trade war. Just as the flow of trade refuted the trade war promises and winning declarations, the same can be applied to the impact and ruthlessness of C-19.

A cargo ship being unloaded at...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary-covid-19-severely-impacts-the-blue-economy

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