U.S.-NAFTA freight totaled $96.1 billion in March 2015 as three out of five transportation modes – air, rail, and truck – carried more U.S.-NAFTA freight than in March 2014, according to the TransBorder Freight Data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)
News
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.
After nearly 11 months, the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) have announced a ratification of a new five-year contract.
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 the dust continues to settle at West Coast ports after a nine-month labor dispute that saw the two main parties involved–the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union–reach a tentative labor agreement on February 22, the PMA said yesterday that its members voted to ratify a new contract with the ILWU.
American Trucking Associations
American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 3% in April, following a revised gain of 0.4% during the previous month. In April, the index equaled 128.6 (2000=100), which was the lowest level since April 2014. The all-time high is 135.8, reached in January 2015.
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.
Import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is returning to normal levels as officials prepare to count votes on ratification of a new West Coast labor agreement that ended months of uncertainty, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
CBP announced that the next phase of its Importer Security Filing (ISF) enforcement will begin on May 14, 2015. This marks the end of the final one-year limited liquidated damage (LD)/”three strikes” phase of a six-year evolution of ISF enforcement. In summary, here is what will change:
North American shipment volume and payments were up for the third month in a row. While first quarter GDP was an anemic 0.2 percent, it is not representative of the freight moving in the nation. Both the railroad and truck sectors reported increased loads in April. The strength of the U.S. dollar is boosting imports but hampering exports.