Ocean carriers in the eastbound trans-Pacific are scheduled to deploy 28 “extra-loader” vessels to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach over the next two months in response to heavy import volumes expected to land at the US’ busiest gateway during peak shipping season.
The added capacity — 14 extra loaders at each port — comes amid an anticipated boost in discretionary cargo diverted from ports along the US East and Gulf coasts as shippers protect themselves from potential longshore labor disruption in those regions.
Ports on the US West Coast may also see an uptick in freight diverted from Vancouver considering the rail labor issues north of the border are not fully settled.
“If people are worried about ILA [International Longshoremen’s Association] action, and have the ability to do so, they’ve moved things over to the West Coast,” a freight forwarder told the Journal of Commerce. “By and large though, shippers moved peak [freight] early.”
While those developments are helping to drive more import volumes to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the main force behind the cargo surge is the strength of the US economy, especially consumer demand, according to Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc.
“I have been impressed by the resilience of demand,” Clerc said during an interview Tuesday at the naming ceremony for the dual-fuel container ship Alette Maersk in Los Angeles. “I expect continued resilient demand through the end of the year.”
The threat of a strike by the ILA at East and Gulf coast ports when the union’s coastwide contract expires on Sept. 30 will have only “a little bit” to do with the import volumes expected to move through Southern California in the coming months, said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.
“It’s the strength of the US economy” that is by far the main driver of import growth, Seroka said at the Maersk event.
Details please refer to JOC news.
Source:
Mongelluzzo, B. (n.d.). Carriers to deploy “extra-loaders” to Los Angeles-Long Beach amid import surge. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/carriers-to-deploy-extra-loaders-to-los-angeles-long-beach-amid-import-surge-5714861