LA, Long Beach Announce Fees for Lingering Boxes
America's top container ports Los Angeles and Long Beach are cracking down on ocean carriers whose containers linger on terminals as clogged U.S. seaports struggle to keep up with record box volumes.Under the new policy, developed in coordination with the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, U.S. Department of Transportation and multiple supply chain stakeholders, and set to take effect November 1, the ports will charge ocean carriers for each truck-bound container dwelling nine days or more and rail containers that sit for three days or more.
US Appoints Port Envoy to Address Supply Chain Disruptions
The White House and the U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Friday that John D. Porcari will be the Port Envoy to the Biden-Harris Administration Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force.Porcari will work closely with Secretary Buttigieg and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) as well as the National Economic Council to address congestion at U.S. ports. Disruptions in global shipping and rapid shifts in demand have led the cost of shipping containers between China and the West Coast to grow more than 90% compared to 2019. Containerized cargo volumes rose 40% in the first half of this year compared to the same time last year at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together handle the largest share of containerized cargo moving through U.S. ports.
Great Lakes-Seaway Adds $16 Billion to Canadian Economy
Cargo shipments to ports on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway navigation system generate $34.6 billion of economic activity and 227,000 jobs in Canada and the U.S., according to a new study released today. That breaks down to 98,000 jobs and $15.9 billion in economic activity in Ontario and Quebec. The study, which is the first to reveal the economic value of the entire bi-national Great Lakes-Seaway System and its more than 100 ports, was simultaneously unveiled today by the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation in Ottawa and by U.S.
Plan to Clean Up Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet
U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary John D. Porcari announced that the Department’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) will begin to clean up and recycle obsolete vessels at the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet (SBRF). MARAD has awarded the first contracts for the removal and recycling of two WWII-era cargo ships currently moored in Suisun Bay, Calif. – the first ships to be disposed from the fleet since January 2007. “The Obama Administration is committed to good environmental stewardship, and these deteriorating vessels pose a risk to the marine ecosystem in Suisun Bay,” said Deputy Secretary Porcari. “We can maintain our national defense sealift assets at the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet with a much smaller footprint on the surrounding environment.
