We expected to see more congestion than normal on the day after Veterans Day. As of 10:55am, we already have our first terminal closure. SSA Terminal in Oakland has shut down for the day due to ILWU labor issues. This is the second time in the past week that the terminal was shut down. As many of you are aware, SSA Terminal in Oakland also shut down last Friday afternoon due to ILWU labor issues.
We have not heard of any closures yet in Los Angeles/Long Beach or Seattle/Tacoma. However we do know that carriers are already limiting or not accepting exports through various terminals due to extreme congestion. Furthermore there was news yesterday of potential trucker demonstrations in Los Angeles/Long Beach ports.
As I mentioned last week, the situation at the ports is extremely tenuous. We know the many reasons for congestion at the ports. However the labor contract negotiation between ILWU and PMA should be taking center stage right now as it threatens to completely shut down USWC ports.
I also wanted to remind importers that the carriers have within their contracts port congestion surcharges that they can assess if there is a shutdown at the ports. The port congestion surcharge for most carriers is listed at $800/20′, $1000/40′, and $1125/40’HQ. We have heard that there carriers are in serious discussion about whether or not to start assessing the surcharge.
-Jimmy Ting
Great World
t: 650-873-9050 x1019
email: jimmyting@gwlcorp.com