According to the JOC, the price of diesel fuel has increased by 20% over the last three months. This increase in fuel prices is likely to impact trucking companies and their customers as we head into the new year.
According to the JOC, the price of diesel fuel has increased by 20% over the last three months. This increase in fuel prices is likely to impact trucking companies and their customers as we head into the new year.
According to FreightWaves, import container volumes in August were up 0.4% from July and up 5.5% from June. August volumes were also 2.5% higher than pre-COVID volumes in August 2019, showing “continued consistency with 2019 results.”
The current contract for dockworkers at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports is set to expire over a year from now, in late September 2024. According to The Wall Street Journal, unions representing workers at ports from Maine to Texas have already begun contract talks with the ports in hopes of coming to an agreement well ahead of that expiration date.
After a long and arduous 13-month negotiation process, the JOC reports that a tentative deal has been reached between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA). It is a 6-year deal covering all 29 ports on the US West Coast. With the deal reached, there is optimism that discretionary cargo shippers had diverted away from the West Coast will soon return.
As negotiations (hopefully) continue between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), the situation at West Coast ports remains fluid. Here are a few updates to get you up to speed.
Volumes of US imports are rising again, approaching the “normal” levels seen before the pandemic. According to an article in Freight Waves, US imports are up 9% in April compared to March, and up 5% from April 2019 – the April prior to the pandemic.
President Biden has signed legislation today that imposes a labor agreement on rail workers. According to Supply Chain Dive, this legislation helps the country avoid a national strike that could have cost the economy $2 billion per day.
Weber Logistics’ EVP, Strategy & Marketing Fred Gilbert is featured in an article from Transport Topics which examines the current state of warehousing in relation to space and labor scarcity. Gilbert observes that “product is not leaving the warehouse as quickly as expected, leading to very full warehouses.”
Several communities within Southern California's Inland Empire have issued moratoriums on warehouse construction as they seek to better understand the impact of these facilities on the environment. These moratoriums come at a time when warehouse capacity is already non-existent and new construction is sorely needed.
Container ship logjams at US ports are (unfortunately) back in a big way. This time, however, the congestion is spread out across the US – especially the East and Gulf Coasts – instead of being concentrated on the West Coast.
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