Supply Chain 247
For the past few weeks, a labor dispute has been unfolding at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach.
After flying over the area while coming in to land at LAX, I saw all of these giant container ships anchored offshore and instantly knew that I had to photograph it.
American Trucking Associations
American Trucking Associations’advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 1.2% in January, following a revised gain of 0.1% during the previous month. In January, the index equaled 135.7 (2000=100), an all-time high.
Macy’s Inc (M.N) said sales and margins in the current quarter would be hurt by disruptions at U.S. West Coast ports, and the retailer forecast full-year profit and revenue that fell short of analysts’ expectations.
“The U.S. Leading Economic Index increased again in January, but its pace of growth has moderated in recent months,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Economist at The Conference Board. “While the LEI suggests a positive short-term outlook in 2015, the lack of strong momentum in residential construction, along with a weak outlook for new orders in manufacturing, poses a downside risk for the U.S. economy.”
Congestion at the U.S. West Coast ports could take as much as two months to unwind, according to port and trade group officials, with retailers and other companies bracing for further shipment delays after the apparent resolution of a months-long labor dispute.
Ports are coming back to life along the U.S. West Coast after dockworkers resolved a nine-month labor standoff, though the cargo backlog from ships waiting offshore may take eight weeks to clear.
The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore Warehouse Union (ILWU) announced a tentative agreement that must still be approved by the ILWU membership.
The deal, confirmed in a joint statement by the two sides, was reached after the U.S. labor secretary arrived in San Francisco this week to help broker negotiations that had dragged on for nine months between the shippers and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Negotiators in the nine-month standoff at U.S. West Coast ports are ratcheting up discussions as Labor Secretary Tom Perez seeks to move talks to Washington if dockworkers and their employers can’t reach a resolution.
U.S. oil-company job cuts that cost machinery operator Drew Sanford his spot at Halliburton Co. are shaping up as a boon for truckers desperate for big-rig drivers.
Already equipped with a commercial license, the 30-year-old Sanford left North Dakota and landed at Oklahoma City-based Stevens Trucking Co. He is sometimes on the road as long as four days at a stretch, but the working conditions are good, he said, and “I’ll probably just stick here for a while.”
