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It goes without saying that first quarter GDP output, at -0.2, was plagued by several things, including bad winter to begin the year…again, which dinted consumer spending to a certain extent, coupled with what the Department of Commerce said was a deceleration in personal consumption expenditures (see consumer spending reference above), sluggish demand, and a strong U.S. dollar, too.
News / Ocean Market
The following announced levels from carriers are for General Rate Increases as well as a Peak Season Surcharge beginning on the dates listed below.
Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports has returned to normal levels following ratification of a new West Coast labor agreement, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
US shippers that diverted Asian imports to east coast ports to avoid the heavily congested Pacific coast container terminals could do well to review their strategy following a return to normality on the west coast.
The following announced levels from carriers are for General Rate Increases as well as a Peak Season Surcharge, and third quarter Bunker Fuel Adjustments beginning on the dates listed below.
Labor peace has finally officially for West Coast ports. Following the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) signing off on ratifying a new five-year contract with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) on May 20, the ILWU followed suite on May 22, saying that 82 percent of its longshore worker members voted to ratify the tentative contract agreement between the parties that was reached on February 22.
International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)
West Coast Longshore workers have overwhelmingly voted to ratify a tentative contract agreement reached in February with employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) voted 82% in favor of approving the new 5-year agreement that will expire on July 1, 2019. The previous contract was ratified in 2008 with a vote of 75% in favor.
While cargo volumes at the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and the Port of Long Beach (POLB) went in different directions in April, one thing they had in common was that they each are working through the backlog caused by the nine-month West Coast port labor dispute between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union that reached a tentative agreement in late February.
In what is being described as an effort to “restore service levels,” container shipping lines comprising the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA) are attempting to pull off a significant rate hike this summer.
