Cargo-handling productivity at the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland returned to normal Thursday for the first time in a week, sources said, although the Southern California gateway was contending with a vessel backlog because of job actions by longshore workers earlier in the week. Crane productivity at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, meanwhile, remained much lower than normal.
That came as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) were meeting again Thursday in a bid to hammer out a new contract for West Coast dockworkers, 13 months after the two sides first gathered in San Francisco. The ILWU has engaged in sporadic job actions over the past week to pressure the PMA, resulting in port disruptions up and down the coast.
“Seattle is a mess,” a source close to the situation told the Journal of Commerce, adding crane productivity was down to less than 10% of normal.
Although sufficient labor was being dispatched in Los Angeles and Long Beach Thursday, 47 vessels had backed up before the first shift began working, according to Kip Louttit, executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California. The backlog in Los Angeles-Long Beach is the result of several days in which the ILWU locals refused to dispatch a sufficient number of “lashers” to secure containers on ships, a necessary final step before vessels can safely leave port after being fully loaded.
Louttit said 31 ships have been delayed for at least a week and another 16 have been delayed for at least four days. However, the backlog should be reduced relatively quickly if sufficient lashers are dispatched, he said.
Terminal operators in Los Angeles and Long Beach generally said they were receiving sufficient labor Thursday. “We worked last night and we’re working today,” a second source told the Journal of Commerce.
A spokesperson for the Port of Oakland said all terminals were operating normally Thursday, while the port had a seven-vessel backlog due to labor disruptions earlier this week.
Crane productivity critically low in Seattle, Tacoma
Crane productivity by ILWU locals in Seattle and Tacoma was far less than normal Wednesday night and Thursday, which slowed delivery of containers to importers and compromises the ability of the terminals to load export containers onto vessels. A spokesperson for the Northwest Seaport Alliance of Seattle and Tacoma said three vessels were at anchor on Thursday.
Sources told the Journal of Commerce negotiators are under pressure to close the huge gap separating the union and employers over wage proposals. The ILWU is reportedly seeking an almost 100% increase in hourly wages over the six-year life of the contract, while the PMA is reportedly offering a wage hike in the low single-digits.
Source:
Mongelluzzo, B. (2023b, June 8). Southern California Ports Navigate Vessel Backlog after ILWU job actions. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/southern-california-ports-navigate-vessel-backlog-after-ilwu-job-actions_20230608.html