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White House Keeping Distance from Critical Rail and Dockworker Labor Talks For Now

The White House is monitoring labor talks in the logistics industry as unions representing 115,000 rail workers and 22,000 West Coast dockworkers negotiate fresh contracts, but won’t get directly involved in either bargaining process now, its supply-chain envoy said.

“The administration is watching as closely as it can be watched without being a point of interference, which would not be appropriate,” Stephen Lyons said in a virtual briefing Wednesday. “Negotiations are at a place where you’d think the negotiation should be at this particular point.”

Labor impasses are spreading across the US logistics network in the busiest months of the year for shipping, as retailers stock up on back-to-school and year-end holiday goods. Dock- and railroad-worker unions are currently negotiating contracts with employers, with the latter threatening to strike as soon as July 18.

Talks between the nation’s largest railroads and workers — which started in January 2020 — are in a 30-day cool-off period after a union rejected a binding mediation offer from the National Mediation Board. Next, the Biden administration could appoint a presidential emergency board to resolve the dispute.

Rail Congestion Threatens Nationwide Logjam, LA’s Seroka Says

“We’ve got to get these folks some wage increases; we’ve got to address some of these issues,” Lyons said, adding he doesn’t want to get ahead of President Joe Biden as he makes a decision. “We’ll see what happens on the 17th. But I do think there’s a commitment there.”

Contract Discussions
Separately, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association, which represents about 70 employers, began discussing a new contract in May and are continuing to do so after their previous pact expired July 1. Officials from the ILWU and the PMA, which represents employers, met with Biden when he visited the Port of Los Angeles last month and have recently reaffirmed their commitment to keeping cargo moving despite the lack of a contract.

Any slowdown in operations at the two ports that are responsible for 42% of all containerized trade with Asia could stoke annual inflation that’s running at the fastest pace since 1981, and damp economic growth.

Biden, who’s pledged to be the most pro-union president in US history, has directed Cabinet members and logistics-area experts to smooth out pandemic-era port logjams that spurred shortages and delays. Lyons and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh have been in touch with both parties, the port envoy said.

Port of Los Angeles Kicks Off Peak Season with Record June

Meanwhile, about 70,000 truck owner-operators in California — home to the nation’s biggest port complex at Los Angeles and Long Beach — are now in limbo as a local gig-work law starts applying to them.

California’s Assembly Bill 5 requires workers satisfy a three-part test to be considered independent contractors, or else be seen as employees entitled to job benefits. The state’s truck owner-operators must now comply with AB5 after the Supreme Court on June 30 refused to review a case challenging the legislation that sets out the tests for employment-status classification.

‘So Critical’
On Wednesday, truckers demonstrated against the changes at the port gateways of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, according to the Harbor Trucking Association.

L.A. operations weren’t affected, and the port had planned for the protest days ahead Executive Director Gene Seroka said.

“We gave them the breadth and depth and space they needed to voice their opinions but kept this cargo moving; these drivers are very respectful of just that,” Seroka said at the virtual briefing Lyons also attended. “They have a message to put out there and are continuing to do so. I applaud them for coming out here today.”

The Biden administration is still assessing the AB5 issue in California, Lyons said.

“The truckers are so critical to their supply chain — we’ve got to make sure that we’re setting the conditions to take care of them to the best of our ability.”

/ By COH Marketing / 最新消息（EN）/ 1 条评论

由于空白航次未能阻止运价下滑，远洋承运商削减了跨太平洋服务

地中海航运公司（Mediterranean Shipping Co.马士基和达飞轮船公司正在削减三条跨太平洋航线，以应对进口需求和即期海运费率的急剧下降。

这些航线变化相当于一条后巴拿马型航线和两条巴拿马型航线，并不是运力的重大削减，对支撑运费率可能作用不大。但这些举措表明，随着运价接近或低于盈亏平衡水平，承运商正在快速削减运力。

2M 联盟成员地中海航运（MSC）和马士基（Maersk）上周分别发表声明称，由于跨太平洋地区的 "需求大幅减少"，他们联合经营的红杉/TP3 后巴拿马型船航线将暂停。红杉/TP3 航线每周提供从宁波和上海至洛杉矶约 14,000 个标准箱的运力。

马士基表示，该航线将并入2M公司停靠长滩的13600TEU Jaguar/TP2航线。Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis称，2016年推出的Sequoia/TP3航线的最后一班船将是MSC Savona号，计划于10月5日抵达洛杉矶。

马士基还表示，进入美国东海岸和海湾地区的两条独立航线将合二为一。从 10 月 13 日 "Merkur Archipelago "号从越南 Vung Tau 港出发的最后一班航次开始，该公司于 2022 年开通的 TP28 航线将并入于 2021 年开通的 TP20 航线。

马士基表示，两条航线都将放弃停靠诺福克港、查尔斯顿港和休斯敦港，TP20 只停靠纽约-新泽西州和莫比尔港。TP20 的始发港将包括雅加达、船头、上海和宁波。这两条航线都使用 5000 个标准箱左右的巴拿马型船舶。

马士基表示，合并服务将为托运人提供更好的转运时间，并增加泊位的可用性。马士基补充说，"一旦货物需求恢复，我们将通过重启 TP3、TP28、升级其他服务和/或增开额外装载船来恢复运力。

另据 Sea-Intelligence 报道，达飞轮船结束了其金门大桥航线，该航线停靠奥克兰港和西雅图港。该航线的最后一班船是达飞轮船公司的 "美狄亚号"，目前停靠在西雅图。

除了主要的远洋承运商之外，较小的承运商也从跨太平洋航线上撤出了船只。海运咨询公司 Alphaliner 在一份报告中说，独立承运商 CULines 自 2021 年 7 月起结束了与上海锦江航运共同运营的跨太平洋快运服务，此前在 8 月份关闭了其 TPN 服务。Alphaliner 表示，CULines 仍在运营第二条跨太平洋快运航线。

10 月份产能与去年同期持平

在服务变化之前，承运商为削减运力，在 10 月份安排了一系列空航，但未能阻止即期运费的下滑。Sea-Intelligence 称，截至上周五，海运承运商计划在本月空驶 48 个航次。Sea-Intelligence 称，相比之下，六周前，承运商仅计划在 10 月份取消 12 个航次。

根据投资银行杰弗里斯（Jeffries）的一份研究报告，自 8 月中旬以来，现货海运费每周下滑 10%。目前，美国西海岸的现货运价徘徊在每 FEU 2,400 美元，接近船舶只能实现收支平衡的水平。

Sea-Intelligence 表示，服务削减主要影响了在即期运价高企时涌入跨太平洋地区的运力。即使削减了服务，10 月份承运商仍将在跨太平洋地区部署 156 万标准箱的船舶空间，与去年的总量基本持平。

"Sea-Intelligence 表示："从目前宣布的空航来看，承运商只是将运力降低到了去年的水平。"相关的问题是在贸易中运营的运力规模，空航很可能会被更大的船只、新的服务以及可能的额外装载机所抵消"。

/ By COH Marketing / 最新消息（EN）/ / 0 条评论

China COVID rules make deep cuts in Hong Kong cross-border container volumes

Hong Kong faces losing all its cross-border container traffic with Shenzhen and Guangdong Province if Chinese authorities continue to impose COVID-19 restrictions on trucking and feeder operations, the head of Hong Kong’s terminal operators’ group has warned.

Jessie Chung, chairwoman of the Hong Kong Container Terminal Operators’ Association, said the volume of containerized exports trucked from Guangdong Province for shipment through Hong Kong port has slumped since February when China imposed COVID-19 controls on trucking and barge operators. The association represents four of Hong Kong’s five terminal operators, including Hutchison’s Hongkong International Terminals, Cosco-HIT Terminals, Modern Terminals, and Goodman DP World.

“The situation worsened in June and July,” Chung told JOC.com Tuesday. She said the volume of export containers transported by cross-border truck to Kwai Chung container terminal fell 48 percent in June and 58 percent in July compared with a year earlier.

Hong Kong government figures show a year-on-year average monthly drop of 60 percent in total freight imports by truck from South China, to just 400,000 tons between February and June.

Cargo volumes moved to Hong Kong by barge from South China show an average monthly drop of 24 percent to about 3 million tons since January compared with last year.

“We have to liaise with Shenzhen and Guangdong authorities, otherwise we will lose all our cargo,” Chung said.

But Chinese authorities have rebuffed attempts by Hong Kong government officials for an agreement to ease restrictions on cross-border truckers and barge operators.

“There have been numerous meetings and plenty of emails and other communication on the cross-border trucking and barge operation issues,” Roberto Giannetta, chairman of the Hong Kong Liner Shipping Association, told JOC.com. “But in terms of progress, we can say there is zero improvement.”

No incentive for China to ease restrictions

Under the controls introduced in March, cross-border truck drivers are banned, while container-laden chassis can only be picked up and dropped off at designated Hong Kong-Shenzhen border crossings. Barge crews must also live on their vessels for extended periods without shore leave.

“Shenzhen has everything to gain by maintaining the existing obstacles — cargo flow through Hong Kong is being shifted to Shenzhen ports,” a senior shipping executive told JOC.com. “There is, therefore, very little motivation for them to ease restrictions that would restore smooth transport of containers through Hong Kong port.”

Chung pointed out the district government in Nansha, about 60 miles west of Hong Kong, has recently introduced a raft of incentives to encourage shippers to move cargo through Nansha, part of the Guangzhou port complex. These include cash bonuses for shippers who move into the district and to firms who increase freight volumes, especially reefer cargo.

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Cargo Shipowners Cancel Sailings as Global Trade Flips From Backlogs to Empty Containers

Dozens of sailings from Asia to U.S. ports are set to be canceled in October as deteriorating economic conditions weigh on demand to ship goods worldwide

Ocean carriers are canceling dozens of sailings on the world’s busiest routes during what is normally their peak season, the latest sign of the economic whiplash hitting companies as inflation weighs on global trade and consumer spending.

The October cancellations are a sharp reversal from just a few months ago, when scarce shipping space pushed freight rates higher and carriers’ profits to record levels. Last October, companies like Walmart Inc. and Home Depot Inc. were chartering their own ships to get around bottlenecks at ports to meet a surge in demand for imports.

Trans-Pacific shipping rates have plummeted roughly 75% from year-ago levels. The transportation industry is grappling with weaker demand as big retailers cancel orders with vendors and step up efforts to cut inventories. FedEx Corp. recently said it would cancel flights and park cargo planes because of a sharp drop in shipping volumes. On Thursday, Nike Inc. said it was sitting on 65% more inventory in North America than a year earlier and would resort to markdowns.

The erosion in global economic conditions, from the war in Ukraine to factory shutdowns in China, have dealt heavy blows to trade activity. The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for global growth in gross domestic product multiple times this year. Consumer prices are rising at the fastest rates in years in the U.S., countries in Europe and other parts of the world.

One response to the melting demand has been to reduce sailing trips. In September, container capacity offered by ship operators in the Pacific was down 13%, dropping the equivalent of 21 ships that can each move 8,000 containers in a single voyage, from a year earlier, according to shipping-data providers Xeneta and Sea-Intelligence. 

For the two weeks starting Oct. 3, a total of about 40 scheduled sailings to the U.S. West Coast from Asia and 21 sailings to the East Coast from Asia have been scrapped, according to the data companies as well as customer advisories viewed by The Wall Street Journal. Typically at this time of year, an average of two to four sailings a week are blanked, the industry’s term for canceled sailings.

Carriers also are increasingly canceling trips along key Asia-to-Europe routes, the data providers said.

“In the first week of October, one-third of previously announced capacity will be blanked and for the second week, it will be around half,” said Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta. “The downturn pace in recent weeks has been very fast and it looks like carriers misread the low volumes of a nonexistent peak season.”

The period between late summer and early fall typically is the busiest time of year for the largest carriers, as retailers and other importers build inventories ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Daily freight rates now average $3,900 to move a single container across the Pacific, compared with$14,500 at the start of the year and more than $19,000 in 2021, according to the Freightos Baltic Index.

M editerranean Shipping Co., the world’s largest container carrier by capacity, has voided some sailings recently, including a six-ship service from China to Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The rotation, which MSC operated in alliance with A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, was suspended “due to significantly reduced demand for shipments into the U.S. West Coast during the past weeks,” according to a customer notice posted Wednesday on MSC’s website. The suspension will remove nearly 12,000 containers a week in capacity from the trans-Pacific trade, and the action would help strengthen the transit times it offers, MSC said in its notice.

MSC declined to comment beyond the notice as did a Maersk spokesman. A Hapag-Lloyd AG spokesman said the company hasn’t canceled sailings as a result of weaker demand. Cosco Shipping Holding Co. and CMA CGM, two other major container operators, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Some carriers are reluctant to share details on canceled sailings to avoid showing competitors what is happening in their network. Voyages can be scrapped because of port congestion, scheduling issues or falling demand.

Consumer spending on bulky items like furniture and appliances that are often imported into the U.S. has cooled in recent months, according to government data. Such items were in hot demand earlier in the pandemic as Americans spent more time at home and renovated their houses.

A  flotilla of new container ships under order will add capacity over the next two years, meaning that freight rates could come under more pressure as more ship space becomes available.

Ocean container capacity is slated to increase 4% this year and is expected to rise by 8.8% in 2023 and a further 9.7% in 2024, according to London-based shipping adviser Braemar PLC. Since early 2020 some 1,056 ships that can move about eight million boxes were ordered, compared with 688 vessels ordered from 2015 to 2019 that can move around five million boxes.

“The global economy has thrown a few curveballs this year, and our outlook on future demand is uncertain and tepid,” said Jonathan Roach, a container analyst at Braemar. “Overcapacity will likely become an issue from the middle of 2023 through to 2024 and potentially beyond.”

Overcapacity pushes operators to undercut each other, putting pressure on freight rates. Boxship operators fought deep losses for nearly a decade starting in 2008, which prompted consolidation in the industry. The top six ocean-freight carriers move more than 70% of all containers worldwide.

Freight rates on key shipping routes remain above prepandemic levels, and the largest operators have plenty of cash to weather a near-term economic downturn. The costs carriers face are rising, too. Bunker fuel prices, which have cooled since hitting records this summer, are above their late 2019 levels. Port operators are also charging more for ships to dock, passing along the higher energy prices they are facing to the carriers.

“The cost of electricity, particularly in Europe, is significant because the cranes and other heavy equipment run on electrical power,” said Tiemen Meester, chief operating officer for ports and terminals at DP World, a Dubai-based operator of terminals in ports worldwide.