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Port of Montreal to face three-day strike against two terminals next week

Almost half of the Port of Montreal’s container capacity will be shuttered through the first half of next week as dockworkers there plan to strike two of its five container terminals, the latest move in a long-simmering standoff between the local longshore union and the port’s maritime employers.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 375 sent a 72-hour notice to the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) of its intent to strike, according to a statement Friday from the Montreal Port Authority. The strike will target the Viau and Maisonneuve container terminals from Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, reopening on Thursday.

The two terminals, which can handle a combined 1.1 million TEUs, account for 41% of Montreal’s container capacity. The port’s other three terminals will remain open, the port said.

The strike in Montreal will likely coincide with a strike by longshoremen along the US East and Gulf coasts, who are expected to walk off the job on Oct. 1 in what would be the first coastwide strike in those regions since 1977.

The Port of Montreal said that vessel calls to the two targeted terminals will be suspended, and trucks and rail will not be able to access them. The Viau terminal primarily handles services operated by Mediterranean Shipping Co., while Maisonneuve handles MSC, OOCL and Hapag-Lloyd services.

“Any work stoppage at the Port of Montreal has major consequences,” the MEA said in a separate statement. “With cargo handled by Montreal longshore workers already down 24% since 2022, we have a joint responsibility to secure a singed collective agreement as soon as possible.”

CUPE did not respond to a request for comment.

The strike notice comes two days after members of Local 375 voted to approve a strike. Under Canadian law, unions are authorized to call a strike within 60 days of a vote and must provide employers with a 72-hour notice. The Montreal Port Authority added that it has activated a “business continuity plan to ensure that the pressure tactics that will be used do not harm the rest of port operations.”

The strike also comes the same week Local 375 and MEA sat down in government-mediated talks on a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the one that expired at the end of 2023.

“Although negotiations are continuing, we are disappointed that they have not allowed the two parties to reach an agreement to date, while nearly $6 billion worth of cargo is expected on the Port of Montreal’s docks in the coming weeks,” Montreal Port Authority Chief Executive Julie Gascon said in the agency’s statement. “I therefore invite both parties to continue negotiations in order to avoid a work stoppage.”

It wasn’t immediately clear why Local 375 targeted the two terminals, which are owned by Canada’s Termont International. However, there is a history of bad blood between the two sides. In one incident, Termont managers who had been working at the terminals during a 2020 strike were attacked, with Montreal police having questioned longshore workers about the assault.

Source:

Angell, M. (2024c, September 27). Port of Montreal to face three-day strike against two terminals next week. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/port-of-montreal-to-face-three-day-strike-against-two-terminals-next-week-5737483

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More US ports reveal contingency plans as ILA strike deadline inches closer

Several US ports along the US East and Gulf coasts are working under contingency plans ahead of a possible strike by dockworkers on Oct. 1, including extending terminal hours and implementing deadlines for operations.

The plans come amid the increasing likelihood that the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) will not reach an agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) on a new master contract covering East and Gulf coast dockworkers. ILA President Harold Daggett has said the union will not agree to an extension once the current contract expires on Monday, Sept. 30.

Port of Virginia outlines closure schedule

The Port of Virginia will begin stopping cargo operations on Sept. 30, according to port officials, with the last inbound train delivery scheduled for 8 am. Additionally, all inbound truck gates will close at noon. In a statement, the port said use of its Trucker Reservation System (TRS) is “strongly encouraged” on Sept. 30.

At 1 pm on Sept. 30, ocean operations will stop, vessels will be required to sail, and the last outbound train will leave, the port said. All motor carriers must leave the port at that time. At 6 pm, all other container operations will halt. Reefer units will remain plugged in but will not be monitored.

The Virginia Port Authority’s privately held terminal operating company, Virginia International Terminals, will not be charging demurrage for containers in the terminal during the strike.

“Once an agreement has been reached, the Port of Virginia will implement its resumption of operations plan and methodically and safely bring terminals back online,” the VPA said.

New Orleans adds Saturday hours

The Port of New Orleans has issued similar deadlines, but added Saturday hours at the New Orleans Terminal from 8 am to 5 pm on Sept. 28, with a one-hour break from noon to 1 pm. Port officials said any work stoppage from the strike will not increase demurrage charges.

At the New Orleans Terminal, which serves Mediterranean Shipping Co., Maersk and Zim Integrated Shipping Services, vessel operations will halt at noon on Sept. 30, with rail and gate operations stopping at 4 pm. Receipt of export reefer containers ends at 4 pm Sept. 27 and import reefers must be out of the gate by 4 pm Sept. 30 “unless prior approval is obtained from New Orleans Terminal,” according to the port.

At Port NOLA’s Ports America terminal — serving CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Seaboard, Evergreen, COSCO, OOCL and Yang Ming — deadlines for vessel operations have not yet been made public, but gate operations will conclude Sept. 30 at 4 pm. Import reefers must be out of the gate at that same time, whereas customers are responsible for ensuring export reefers are loaded by Sept. 30. Mirroring the situation at the Port of Virginia, reefers will remain plugged in, but will not be monitored, during a work stoppage.

Jacksonville expecting partial impact

In Jacksonville, a strike is expected to affect one-third of the Port of Jacksonville’s (JAXPORT’s) business, port officials said in a statement.

“The remaining two-thirds of JAXPORT’s business, including Puerto Rico cargo, will continue normally,” the port said. “In addition, none of JAXPORT’s 172 direct employees are ILA members, so all workers directly employed by JAXPORT will continue to work, which means all JAXPORT main gates and administrative functions will remain open regular operating hours.”

Still, customers are encouraged to contact their terminal operators as they are responsible for establishing operating hours.

The Alabama Port Authority said it is monitoring the potential effects of a strike at the Port of Mobile, where its container terminal is managed by APM Terminals.

Meanwhile, ports in the southern US are preparing for another potential impact to operations — the threat of Tropical Storm Helene, which is forecast to strengthen and make landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast early Thursday.

Source:

Robb, L. (2024, September 24). More US ports reveal contingency plans as Ila strike deadline inches closer. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/more-us-ports-reveal-contingency-plans-as-ila-strike-deadline-inches-closer-5733992

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Montreal dockworkers to take strike vote as contract talks continue

The union representing Port of Montreal dockworkers is scheduled to hold a strike vote this week just ahead of another round of mediation talks aimed at securing a deal in a nearly year-long standoff between maritime employers and Montreal’s longshoremen.

The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) said Monday that Local 375 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) will hold a strike vote on Tuesday and Wednesday. The vote coincides with a mediation session overseen by Canada’s Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service that is scheduled to take place Thursday.

While the vote will hang over Thursday’s talks, the MEA said the CUPE still must provide three days’ notice before walking out. If approved, the authorization for a strike will be valid for 60 days from the vote.

“We remind you that no pressure tactics can be exercised before a 72-hour notice is sent to the Minister of Labor,” the MEA said in a statement.

The vote for a strike comes about a year after Local 375 requested mediation in talks between Port of Montreal employers and dockworkers when negotiations hit an impasse. The collective bargaining agreement covering 1,120 longshore workers at Montreal expired at the end of 2023.

The MEA lost a bid earlier this year to have longshore work declared an “essential service,” which would have barred dockworkers from a strike. Montreal was the scene of labor job actions throughout 2020 that resulted in a nearly 11,000-container backlog that took weeks to clear.

Local 375 is reportedly seeking a 20% wage increase over the four-year term of its contract, along with protecting its wage guarantees.

The specter of a port strike in Eastern Canada comes as unionized longshore foremen are still in a standoff with British Columbia maritime employers over a new collective bargaining agreement. And US East and Gulf coast dockworkers are close to launching their first strike in nearly half a century as talks between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance remain stalled.

Source:

Angell, M. (2024b, September 23). Montreal dockworkers to take strike vote as contract talks continue. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/montreal-dockworkers-to-take-strike-vote-as-contract-talks-continue-5733220

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Some US ports extending gate hours ahead of strike deadline

Some ports along the US East and Gulf coasts are going public with their contingency plans ahead of a planned strike by dockworkers on Oct. 1, including staying open for business on weekends.

That comes as some ocean carriers are cutting off new export bookings ahead of the possible work stoppage and issuing surcharges for cargo en route to potentially closed ports.

The contingency plans come amid the increasing likelihood that the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) will not reach an agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) for a new master contract covering East and Gulf coast dockworkers. ILA President Harold Daggett has told his members that the union will not agree to an extension once the current contract expires on Sept. 30.

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) said in a customer advisory Wednesday that shippers should take delivery of cargo before Oct. 1, noting its Garden City Terminal in Savannah will be closed after that in the event of a strike. In addition to opening for the two Saturdays remaining in September, Garden City will open for a full day on Sunday, Sept. 29 for cargo retrieval.

The GPA said it will take export containers until Sept. 30, including refrigerated containers. But it said that if a reefer box does not make it onto a ship by that day, “they will not be monitored and maintained if the port is closed due to a work stoppage.”

The GPA added that it will not charge terminal demurrage to shippers during a work stoppage.

A notice Wednesday from the Port of Houston said its two container terminals plan to open truck gates and work on vessels up until 7 pm on Sept. 30, with the cutoff for export drop-offs an hour earlier. The port said it is evaluating the need for extending regular work hours for the terminals next week, with plans to open Saturday, Sept. 28.

“We encourage imports to be picked up as soon as possible, anything in the yard after 7 pm on September 30th, 2024, will be unavailable until the work stoppage ends,” the notice said. Houston said it would waive an import dwell fee for containers.

The Port of Virginia said in an operations alert that it will open its two main container terminals and the Pinner’s Point Container Yard, which handles empties and chassis, for the next two Saturdays and the Sunday immediately before a strike.

Details please refer to JOC news.

Source:

Angell, M. (2024, September 18). Some US ports extending gate hours ahead of strike deadline. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/some-us-ports-extending-gate-hours-ahead-of-strike-deadline-5730261

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Cargo and vessel disruption expected after typhoon closes Shanghai, Ningbo ports

Shippers and ocean carriers using the major Chinese load ports of Shanghai and Ningbo will face extensive disruption due to terminal closures and vessel bunching caused by Typhoon Bebinca, which made a direct hit on Shanghai Monday.

Hapag-Lloyd warned that the berth situation at both ports was “expected to deteriorate further” due to the storm.

The typhoon, the strongest cyclone to hit Shanghai in 75 years with winds of 95 mph, caused extensive flooding and property damage in Shanghai and neighboring Jiangsu province as it made its way inland Monday and Tuesday.

Hapag-Lloyd said in an advisory Monday that ships were already waiting between 36 and 60 hours to berth at Shanghai and 24 to 48 hours to berth in Ningbo due to vessel bunching ahead of the storm.

Shanghai International Port Group, which controls all the container terminals at the world’s busiest container port, said all its facilities closed Sunday ahead of the storm’s arrival. It said its Yangshan offshore deepwater port complex, about 70 miles from the city center, reopened around midnight local time on Monday.

Cargo operations at its inner-city facilities, including the Waigaoqiao container terminal complex in Pudong and terminals at Hudong and the Wusong port area, were due to restart early Tuesday local time.

Officials at Ningbo-Zhoushan port, the third-busiest container port globally, confirmed the terminal complex closed Sunday and restarted operations late Monday.

Bebinca pounded the Yangtze River delta region about a week after southern China, northern Vietnam and Myanmar were struck by Typhoon Yagi, which closed ports in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Haiphong.

Carriers and forwarders said Bebinca hit midway through a three-day public holiday, with offices only expected to reopen Wednesday. Consequently, it was too early to assess the full effect of the storm on cargo movements and vessel schedules.

“Although the typhoon is expected to weaken [Tuesday], logistics and transportation delays are expected to continue after then,” a senior executive at a Shenzhen-based forwarder told the Journal of Commerce Tuesday.

Air cargo operations at Shanghai’s Pudong and Hongqiao airports were also halted Sunday evening after officials closed the two gateways ahead of the storm, although they have since reopened.

Hundreds of flights were also canceled at Ningbo and Hangzhou airports, officials said.

Source:

Wallis, K. (2024, September 17). Cargo and vessel disruption expected after Typhoon Closes Shanghai, Ningbo Ports. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/cargo-and-vessel-disruption-expected-after-typhoon-closes-shanghai-ningbo-ports-5729174

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MSC’s global scale enables standalone network coverage

Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s ability to roll out a standalone east-west ocean network able to compete with the reshaped alliances, and to offer both Red Sea and Suez Canal service options, indicates the immense scale the carrier has built over the last few years.

The world’s largest container carrier will exit its 2M Alliance with Maersk that expires in January next year, and in preparation for its new direction unveiled this week a comprehensive network coverage plan, coupled with two slot-swap agreements, that MSC described as “independent, competitive and complete.”

With a fleet capacity of 6 million TEUs at its disposal and another 2 million TEUs on the order book the Geneva-based carrier will deploy its vessels on services across the major trade lanes, using strategic slot-sharing deals to plug any loopholes.

“We are announcing a comprehensive standalone network and coupling with that two slot swaps [with the new Premier Alliance and Zim Integrated Shipping Services],” MSC CEO Soren Toft told the Journal of Commerce this week.

“We believe we can give a better extended product than being 100% on our own,” he added.

MSC will provide the independent network beginning in February, wielding “full operational control” over 34 loops across five trades: Asia-North America West Coast (four), Asia-North America East Coast (six), Asia-Europe (seven), Asia-Mediterranean (six) and trans-Atlantic (11).

The carrier will offer customers separate routings via the Suez Canal and the Cape of Good Hope, providing over 1,900 direct port pairs on the Suez option and over 1,800 around southern Africa.

Toft said the Red Sea and Suez options for Asia-Europe, Asia-Med and Asia-East Coast were included to cover fourth-quarter contract negotiations on the trade lanes, although he did not expect any change in the Red Sea situation by the time the new network is rolled out in February.

Details please refer to JOC news.

Source:

Knowler, G. (2024, September 12). MSC’s Global Scale enables standalone network coverage. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/mscs-global-scale-enables-standalone-network-coverage-5726563

 

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Typhoon Yagi slams Vietnam, southwest China, delaying sailings

Ocean carriers and shippers are facing several days’ delays to vessel sailing schedules after typhoon Yagi struck southwest China and northern Vietnam over the weekend, closing ports and hitting cargo shipments.

Exporters in northern Vietnam are facing extensive disruption after the storm, which struck Saturday with winds of more than 120 miles per hour, damaged factories, brought down power lines and caused widespread flooding around the port city of Haiphong.

The typhoon, Asia’s most powerful cyclone this year, also killed at least 60 people in China and Vietnam, according to media reports.

Highlighting the impact on vessel schedules, OOCL said 13 ships operating intra-Asia and longer-haul services calling at Hong Kong, Nansha and Yantian and Shekou in Shenzhen are facing sailing delays of up to two days.

But to mitigate the schedule disruption and port closures, OOCL said the container yard cut-off has been extended by up to four days for some of the sailings to help shippers export their cargoes.

The vessels include the 14,846-TEU CMA CGM Pride operating the Transpacific Latin Pacific 2 loop which is now not due to depart Hong Kong until Wednesday, 48 hours later than scheduled.

Ocean Network Express (ONE) said Monday some vessels calling at Haiphong are facing up to a three-day delay.

These include the 1,708-TEU Pearl River Bridge operating the Japan-Vietnam-Haiphong service, which is now scheduled to call at Haiphong Tuesday instead of Saturday. The vessel has already been held up due to congestion at Busan from the impact of typhoon Shanshan, which hit Japan two weeks ago.

Terminal operators including Hutchison Port Holdings and Modern Terminals in Hong Kong said operations were suspended for about 24 hours on Thursday and Friday.

A spokesperson for the Tan Cang Hai Phong International Container Terminal Company, controlled by the state-owned Saigon Newport Corporation, said the port of Haiphong closed on Saturday and Sunday. The spokesperson told the Journal of Commerce there were no reports of injury or damage within the terminal.

Some companies in Vietnam said it would take at least a month to resume production, while officials said nearly 100 enterprises were affected by the typhoon, the state-controlled newspaper Lao Dong said.

Source:

Wallis, K. (2024, September 9). Typhoon yagi slams Vietnam, Southwest China, delaying sailings. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/typhoon-yagi-slams-vietnam-southwest-china-delaying-sailings-5723974

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New strings attached – shipping shapes up for 2025 with Premier Alliance launch

The structure of the global container shipping alliance next year is set for a further shake-up after MSC unveiled its new standalone east-west service network and revealed it has concluded a vessel-sharing agreement (VSA) with THE Alliance, covering nine Asia-Europe services

The pivot point is February 2025, when the 2M partnership of MSC and Maersk is set to disband, while at the same time Hapag-Lloyd will depart THE Alliance to form the Gemini Cooperation with Maersk – at which point, the remaining three THE Alliance carriers – ONE, Yang Ming and HMM – will rebrand as the Premier Alliance and enter into a slot-share agreement with MSC covering the Asia-Europe trades.

In a parallel development, MSC has also signed a three-year VSA with Zim on the transpacific trade.

“We are very pleased to announce this new strategic partnership with MSC, who is the leading carrier in the Asia-Europe trade,” ONE chief executive Jeremy Nixon said.

“Collectively, the Premier Alliance and MSC, will be able to offer a very capable and extensive network of end-to-end port services to its customers from February 2025.

“We look forward to this new cooperation with MSC, and both collaborating on our respective joint operational expertise and combined network synergies,” he added.

Meanwhile, today also saw Israeli carrier ZIM announce that it and MSC had concluded a vessel-sharing agreement on the Asia-North America east coast trade.

In concert with the agreement, the Premier Alliance carriers published their new network for 2025, and MSC did likewise, including the remaining deepsea trades where it intends to continue as a standalone carrier.

According to ONE, the Premier Alliance members are set to offer six transpacific services into the US Pacific South-west, and three into the Pacific north-west range, as well as four Asia-North America east coast services.

In a related development, MSC and Zim have signed a three-year VSA agreement between Asia and the North America east and Gulf coast services, covering MSC’s six services on the trade – the America/Z7S, Emerald/ZXB, Empire/ZNS, Amberjack/ZCP, Lone Star/ZGC, and Pelican/ZSL, while Zim’s two transpacific express services between China and California will remain independent.

“This important collaboration reflects ZIM’s commitment to both delivering an outstanding shipping solution to its customers, and taking continuous proactive steps to enhance efficiencies in our network,” Zim president and chief executive Eli Glickman said.

“It is the direct outcome of our fleet renewal programme which has greatly enhanced Zim’s competitive position, particularly on the Asia to US East Coast trade.

“We are pleased to, once again, join forces with MSC, an industry leader and Zim’s long-standing trusted partner, to augment our network while upholding our customer-centric approach and commitment to the highest levels of service,” he added.

Details please refer to the Loadstar news.

Source:

Marle, G. van. (2024, September 9). New strings attached – shipping shapes up for 2025 with Premier Alliance launch. The Loadstar. https://theloadstar.com/new-strings-attached-shape-up-for-2025-with-premier-alliance-launch/

 

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Rail container dwells in Seattle-Tacoma still high, but relief in sight

The port congestion and elevated rail container dwell times that have been a fact of life in the Pacific Northwest for weeks appear to be peaking and some relief is expected later this month. Until then, however, shippers will be forced to contend with delays in the movement of intermodal containers to inland destinations.

Rail container dwell times at marine terminals in the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) of Seattle and Tacoma have doubled in recent weeks as intermodal container moves spiked amid peak season imports.

Retailers shifted some discretionary import volumes to the Pacific Northwest gateway because of concerns over strike threats by Teamsters Union rail workers in Canada and by East and Gulf coast dockworkers amid the coming expiration of their contract at the end of this month.

US imports from Asia increased almost 51% in July 2024 from July 2023, according to PIERS, a Journal of Commerce sister company within S&P Global. The import surge strained the capacity of the western railroads and terminal operators in the NWSA.

“No mode can accommodate that kind of volatility without disruption,” rail industry analyst Lawrence Gross, president and founder of Gross Transportation, told the Journal of Commerce last week.

Details please refer to JOC news.

Source:

Ashe, A., & Mongelluzzo, B. (2024, September 6). Rail container dwells in Seattle-tacoma still high, but relief in sight. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/rail-container-dwells-in-seattle-tacoma-still-high-but-relief-in-sight-5721796

 

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ILA locals prepping for coordinated strike at US East, Gulf coast ports

Teaneck, NJ — The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) on Thursday appointed local vice presidents to head committees that will coordinate labor actions at East and Gulf coast ports if a new contract isn’t reached by the end of the month. Union leadership the day prior warned the ILA and its employers are “very, very far apart” on “economic” terms, namely wages, as well as automation.

The 13 committees are part of a strike mobilization plan outlined during a two-day meeting in Teaneck, NJ, where local union officials threw their support behind the union’s executive leadership negotiating stance against maritime employers, represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).

In a video message posted on YouTube Wednesday, ILA Executive Vice President Dennis Daggett said the union and employers are “at an impasse.” As of Thursday, no bargaining talks have been scheduled between the ILA and USMX, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

“We can’t even get past the economics of a new contract,” Dennis Daggett said. “We are very, very far apart. Our members showed the world just how valuable our work is during the pandemic, and the carriers and terminals came out of that time with record profits, and they don’t want to share that with our members.”

Wages are a key sticking point in the current contract talks. The ILA is reportedly looking for a 78% increase in its top wage rate, or a $5 per hour increase each year over the contract’s six-year term. The USMX, which represents terminal operators and ocean carriers in ILA contract negotiations, is said to be offering an increase of about half of that, approximately 40%. During the previous two agreements, the ILA secured a $1 per hour wage increase each year.

“Sisters and brothers, it will be monumental if we are without a new master contract to replace the current one that expires in three weeks and four days,” ILA President Harold Daggett said in prepared remarks to the meeting. “We must be prepared if we have to hit the streets on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.”

Details please refer to JOC news.

Source:

Angell, M. (2024, September 5). ILA locals prepping for coordinated strike at US East, Gulf Coast Ports. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/ila-locals-prepping-for-coordinated-strike-at-us-east-gulf-coast-ports-5721164