Port Freight News

Independent truckers protesting California's new "gig worker" law blockaded California's third-busiest seaport for the third straight day on Friday, delaying shipments at the state's top agricultural export hub and adding to U.S. supply chain headaches.Truck gates at all four Port of Oakland marine terminals remain closed to truck traffic on Friday. Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT), which handles about 70% of port cargo, restarted some work on ships, a port spokesperson said.Oakland port truckers began actions against the law formally known as AB5 on Monday.

The total freight volume handled by Port of Antwerp rose from January through September 2019 by 1.1% compared with the same period last year. The container volume (in TEU) was up by as much as 6.4%.However the slowdown in the world economy reduced the growth rate of more volatile trade flows such as conventional break-bulk, liquid bulk and vehicles. On the other hand the volume of dry bulk such as scrap metal, minerals and coal soared by 9.5%, further propelling the overall freight growth for Port of Antwerp.With growth of 5.7% container freight is by far the largest category in the port of Antwerp. This growth can mainly be seen in the transshipment of containers, but the container volume is also expanding as a result of more imports and exports.

New Zealand's largest freight gateway Port of Tauranga says it is on track to break the country's record for transporting more than one million containers in a single year. "Our results show the Port of Tauranga is continuing to reinforce its position as the country's premier freight gateway. We have lifted revenue and earnings and moved record cargo volumes including more than 510,000 TEU containers," said chairman David Pilkington. “Exporters, importers and the shipping lines are increasingly recognising the benefits of our deep water port and our efficient freight handling and stevedoring operations. "This achievement is the direct result of our now-completed five-year $350 million infrastructure investment programme…

After evaluating 627 applications, 50 of which were from ports, for the FY 2015 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced 39 awards for $500 million in funding to be made in the seventh round of this multimodal, discretionary grant program. Of those, five awards totaling $44.3 million, or about 9 percent of total funding, are going to commercial seaports or to projects that directly aid the efficient movement of goods to and from America’s ports.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in conjunction with the Coalition for Responsible Transportation and the Environmental Defense Fund, is launching a new initiative to protect public health and the environment and promote sustainable economic growth by reducing pollution from thousands of short-haul trucks that service the nation’s ports. The new EPA SmartWay initiative will green the nation’s supply chain by reducing harmful diesel emissions from dray trucks – large diesel trucks that are widely used in port facilities to haul freight from cargo ships to nearby local distribution points. “U.S. ports generate jobs and are critical to our nation’s economy,” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation.

Traffic at UK ports rose by one per cent in 2000 to reach a record 573 million tonnes (Mt), according to a report, Maritime Statistics 2000, issued today by the Department for Transport Local Government and the Regions. The report says that at the end of 2000, UK companies owned 624 trading vessels of 100 gross tons and over with a tonnage of 10.5 million deadweight tonnes. This is 46 per cent higher than a year earlier, reversing previous declines in UK company owned tonnage. · Inwards traffic rose by 9 Mt (three per cent) to 316 Mt, while outwards traffic fell by 2 Mt (one per cent) to 257 Mt. · Traffic at the major ports (generally those with at least one Mt of cargo) totalled 556 Mt, accounting for 97 per cent of all UK port traffic in 2000.

As heads of state gather in Panama for Dec. 14 ceremonies in advance of the transfer of the Panama Canal on the Dec. 31, the small Caribbean nation of 2.8 million prepares to step out of Washington's shadow. Since the U.S.S. Nashville guaranteed Panama's independence from Colombia in 1903, the U.S. has maintained a military garrison in Panama and kept administrative control of the canal it built across the isthmus. For decades, Panamanian nationalists rallied to the cry of "one flag, one territory," calling the 10-mile (16 km)-wide U.S.-controlled Canal Zone a "stake through the nation's heart." But when that stake finally comes out at noon on Dec. 31 and the 50-mile (82 km) waterway passes to Panama's control, it will wake up to the challenge of full nationhood.