FLORIDA PORT GETS $9.5M IN MILTON STORM FUNDING
Florida’s SeaPort Manatee will receive $9.5 million in state emergency funding to aid recovery from Hurricane Milton. The funding comes as fuel, food and other goods begin to move through the maritime hub near Tampa Bay. The port serving southwest and central Florida suffered an estimated $200 million in damage when Milton made landfall Oct. 9. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the funding Monday at the port. The combined efforts of county, state and federal authorities and industry partners has Manatee County’s seaport operations “almost normal,” said Executive Director Carlos Buqueras in a release. “This additional funding from the state will really make all the difference” in returning to full operational status. The port has 10 deep-draft berths handling container, liquid and dry bulk, breakbulk, heavy-lift, project, and general cargo. It handled 177,108 twenty-foot equivalent units in fiscal 2023.
LONGSHORE UNION HALTS OVERTIME AT PORT OF MONTREAL
Employers warned an overtime strike by union dockworkers at the Port of Montreal could lead to a shutdown of cargo operations at the eastern Canada maritime hub. The work stoppage by Longshoremen’s Union Local 375 began Thursday after terminals and shipping lines asked the union to withdraw its overtime strike notice. It advised that assigned employees who were unable to work would not be paid for the hours they could have worked. The union, an affiliate of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, represents approximately 1,200 dockworkers. Bargaining on a new contract with federal mediators reached a stalemate over scheduling and a reduction in hours for senior forepersons, according to reports. The Maritime Employers Association representing shipping lines, terminals and other businesses said even a limited job action could bring cargo handling to a halt.
BOEING TO SUNSET 767 FREIGHTER PROGRAM, SLOW 777X ROLLOUT AMID STRIKE
Boeing said Friday afternoon it will stop production of the 767 freighter in 2027, sooner than expected, and won’t have the next-generation 777-8 freighter ready for commercial use until 2028, at least a year later than previously scheduled, as the company looks to stem financial losses amid a month-long machinists strike. Management also announced it will take a $3 billion pre-tax charge on the 777X and 767 programs, lay off about 10% of its workforce and report a third quarter loss of $9.97 per share. About 17,000 workers will be let go. The cut in freighter production schedules is a potential problem for the air cargo industry, which faces a growing shortfall in international widebody freighter capacity as many aircraft reach retirement age and shipping demand grows at a forecast annual rate of about 4%. Friday’s news comes two days after Boeing pulled its latest contract proposal with striking machinists. The unionized machinists had rejected the sweetened contract offer. Thirty members of Congress on Friday wrote Ortberg to criticize high levels of executive pay and urge management to return to the bargaining table. They also expressed concern that workers have lost their employer-funded health care for exercising their right to strike.
GEORGIA’S BRUNSWICK PORT EXPANDS RO/RO CAPACITY
So what’s a port to do after it adds 120 paved acres to support its growing roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) vehicle business? That’s easy. If you’re the Port of Brunswick, Georgia, you add 50 more acres. The Georgia Ports Authority Board approved the measure for expansion of more vehicle storage at Brunswick, a move that will enable the authority to more efficiently accommodate increased trade crossing the docks at Colonel’s Island Terminal. At the same time, Brunswick will receive nearly $38 million in federal funding for maintenance dredging and harbor improvements in legislation passed by Congress earlier this year. That includes $26.6 million to return the federal waterway to its full authorized depth. Dredging work by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to start in late 2024. An additional $11.35 million in federal funding and $6 million in state money have been allocated to the Corps’ Brunswick Harbor Improvements project. The plan includes an expanded area for vessels to pass, a bend widener and an expanded turning basin for ships docking at Colonel’s Island.
