CONTAINER VOLUMES AT PORT OF LOS ANGELES RISE FOR SECOND STRAIGHT MONTH, BUT PACE LAGGING PRE-PANDEMIC
Container volumes at the Port of Los Angeles showed improvement for the second consecutive month in April, although they continue to lag behind pre-pandemic levels. In April, the Port of Los Angeles processed 688,110 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 22% decrease compared to the same period last year when the port had its second-busiest April on record, surpassed only by April 2021.Through the first four months of this year, the Port of Los Angeles has handled a total of 2,525,204 TEUs, marking a 29% decline compared to last year’s record-setting pace that continued through the first half. Nevertheless, the year-to-date number is 14% below the levels seen in 2019 before the pandemic hit. In fact, one would need to go back to 2015 to find a slower start to the year through April. Comparing March 2023 to February 2023, the Port of Los Angeles witnessed a significant 28% increase in cargo volumes. Compared to March figures, cargo volumes in April rose by 10%.
PORT OF PHILADELPHIA CARGO INCENTIVE RECEIVES STATE FUNDS THROUGH MID-2024
The state of Pennsylvania is renewing a cargo incentive program for new and existing ocean carriers that call the Port of Philadelphia (PhilaPort), with the move coming as a new north-south service from Zim Integrated Shipping Services starts calling the port. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) said last week it would provide another $1 million to extend the state’s Intermodal Cargo Growth Incentive Program through July 2024. The program was set to expire this June.
OAKLAND’S HOWARD TERMINAL EYES REDEVELOPMENT AFTER BALLPARK PROPOSAL STRIKES OUT The Port of Oakland, no longer forced to deal with the possibility of a new ballpark built for the Oakland A’s at Howard Terminal, will now focus on developing the 50-acre site for maritime support activities. Any future projects could create overnight truck parking and temporary storage of dry and refrigerated containers.
LATE US PRODUCE SEASON BOOSTING SPOT REEFER TRUCKLOAD RATES.
A slow-blooming US produce season is tightening refrigerated (reefer) truck capacity in some markets and pushing up reefer and dry-van spot truckload rates. Spot market data and other sources show produce trucking growing at the US Mexican border and rising more slowly in California.
Top 100 Importer/Exporter Rankings: US trade flows returning to pre-pandemic patterns
The supply lines of the largest US importers and exporters crossed last year as a weakening US consumer economy and slowdown in manufacturing depressed containerized imports, especially in the second half of the year, but demand for containerized US raw materials, recyclables and food products supported exports. Top 100 US Importer and Exporter rankings underscore the impact of softer US and global economies that depressed demand for goods domestically and abroad, weakening consumer confidence and high inflation, and a major shift in the timing of imports last year.
US-MEXICO CROSS-BORDER TRUCKING EXPANDING ON MANUFACTURING DEMAND, NEARSHORING The US trucking market may be in the doldrums, but not at the US-Mexico border. High demand for manufactured goods and produce is pushing up the volume and the value of goods moving north from Mexican factories and farms into the US. And that is keeping northbound truck rates from Mexico high compared with US national averages.
WAN HAI ADDS NEW INDIA-US TRANSSHIPMENT OPTION VIA COLOMBO.
A new call to Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Wan Hai Lines’ Asia-America 7 (AA7) service will give shippers an additional transhipment option for moving goods between Southern India and the US East Coast. The updated port rotation of the AA7, which went into effect earlier this month, is Shanghai, Ningbo, Taipei, Shekou, Cai Mep, Singapore, Colombo, New York, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, and back to Shanghai. The weekly loop operates with 12 vessels with capacities ranging from 8,500 TEU to 13,100 TEU.
