MOBILE’S BREAKBULK DOCKS FACE STRIKE THREAT AFTER TALKS WITH ILA LOCAL FAIL
The ILA’s local union at Mobile’s general cargo and breakbulk docks may walk off the job this week if a deal can’t be reached with breakbulk stevedore CSA Equipment.
PORT OF CHARLESTON’S HARBOR DEEPENING NEARS COMPLETION
The deepening of Charleston’s harbour will enable the port to handle larger vessels that are carrying growing volumes of imports from Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent to the US East Coast.
US GULF RESIN SHIPPERS GET MORE VESSEL SPACE WITH NEW CMA CGM SERVICE
CMA CGM is adding a new South America-US Gulf service that aims to restore some of the capacity lost on that trade lane due to cutbacks over the past year.
PORT HOUSTON CONTAINER VOLUMES STAY STRONG IN SEPTEMBER
Port Houston on the U.S. Gulf Coast has reported another very strong month in September as it continued to benefit from shifted inbound trade flows in the hangover of the pandemic-fuelled imports boom. In fact, September marked the second-biggest month ever for containers at Port Houston, following only August 2022. Port Houston last month handled 353,525 TEUs, for a whopping 26% increase over September 2021. Port Houston, with its two Barbour’s Cut and Bayport container terminals, has been perhaps the biggest winner of shifting trade flows, but has also not proven to be immune to congestion problems. AIS data as of Monday showed more than 20 containerships waiting at port anchorages. In other Port Houston news…. Steel imports used heavily by the state’s oil and gas industry were up 32% in September and year-to-date are up 76% and have surpassed 4M tons. Crude oil production in the Texas Eagle Ford region has been increasing steadily since early this year, and Texas rig count and number of drilling permits are both up.
PORT OF SAVANNAH SEES SIGNS OF MARKET CORRECTION
Cargo volumes through the Port of Savannah tumbled more than 7 percent in September in part due to impacts related to Hurricane Ian. Even so, the port closed out the quarter handling nearly 10 percent more cargo than it did a year ago.
The Georgia Port Authority said it expects growth to moderate in the coming months. On a positive note, an easing of demand should help U.S. ports address vessel backlogs brought on by unprecedented import volumes. The Port of Savannah expects to clear the need for vessels to wait at anchor by the end of November. Currently, approximately 204,600 containers are on the water headed for Savannah, down from a high of 262,500 in July.
US FMC proposes new demurrage and detention billing requirements
The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is proposing a new rule that seeks to bring more clarity, structure and punctuality to the demurrage and detention billing practices of vessel operating common carriers (VOCCs), non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) and marine terminal operators (MTOs). The FMC proposes adopting the list of minimum information that common carriers must include in demurrage or detention invoices as mandated in the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA); further defining prohibited practices by clarifying which parties may be billed for demurrage or detention charges; and establishing billing practices that billing parties must follow when invoicing for demurrage or detention charges.
