Great news impacting the rail industry this morning as The National Carriers Conference Committee (NCCC) released the following statement:
News / Industry News
Following our recent post on September 12th, 2022, the most recent developments include the following. As of September 14th, 2022, an agreement has been successfully reached with 9 out of the 12 unions.
Starting Monday September 12, US Freight Railroads will begin to cut services due to the failure of two of the country’s largest Unions to agree to contract.
WASHINGTON, September 7, 2022 – With inflation continuing and the Federal Reserve hoping to cool demand through higher interest rates, imports at the nation’s major container ports are expected to fall below last year’s levels for the remainder of 2022, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
NY – NJ Terminal
Possibilities of Maher Terminals tariff were first announced on Thursday, August 4th, by a Bi-State member. Despite Maher’s management team typically having good communications, recently Maher Terminals discreetly published this new tariff to the website, that will take effect on September 23, 2022.
Starting January 1st, 2023 California will implement a new rule “Truck and Bus Regulation” that could shrink the drayage fleet by up to a quarter according to the California Trucking Association (CTA). The new rule will ban truck models that are made in 2009 or older. Given the recent pass of AB5, which bans independent contractors, the addition of this rule will likely motivate some owner-operators to leave the state and when the state’s dray capacity takes a hit, cost to shippers will ultimately rise.
WASHINGTON, August 8, 2022 – After a record-setting spring, imports at the nation’s major container ports are expected to slow significantly for the remainder of the year but 2022 should still see a net gain over 2021, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
Port congestion had finally looked like it was easing in May and early June, ship queues had reduced to double digits. As of June 10th, there were 92 vessels held up offshore, led by 25 at the Savannah port, Georgia with 25, 20 off Los Angeles/Long Beach, 18 off New York/New Jersey, and 14 off Houston. Quickly, port congestion escalated to near record highs. On July 8th rising to 125 vessels and showing no signs of stopping, by July 19th 140 vessels were waiting offshore.
ILWU, PMA Likely to Reach New West Coast Contract
Multiple sources directly involved in the ongoing West Coast longshore labor negotiations believe that a deal will be reached in August or September, despite there being several difficult issues yet to be resolved. “The two sides continue to meet and negotiate,” said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles. “Both have seasoned negotiators at the table, and each understands their importance to the US economy. I am optimistic that we will have a contract in good order and cargo will continue to flow.” Despite many stakeholders being optimistic, risk remains due to assumptions that major issues can be resolved through negotiation.
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
For the past ten days, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) has kept 22,000 dockworkers throughout the West Coast on the job without a contract after their previous deal expired July 1. Meanwhile, the ILWU is carrying out talks with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), in which the Biden administration is heavily involved. Behind the scenes, the ILWU is working diligently with the port operators to ram through a sellout contract.