America's busiest port is no longer the West Coast anchor
- Author:aaron
- Release Date:2022-12-17
America's busiest port is no longer the West Coast anchor
For the past 22 years, the Port of Los Angeles has been the busiest container port in North America, moving about 10 million containers full of cargo for Americans and generating about $500 million a year for California. But for the past three months, the Port of New York and New Jersey have been No. 1.
The change in the U.S. supply chain is designed to get goods to consumers faster and cheaper, according to CNN. The vast majority of foreign-made goods, from furniture and clothing to auto parts, arrive in the United States on cargo ships that unload at American ports.
"We have to get the cargo back," Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said at a recent news conference.
Iports into Los Angeles and Long Beach, the two main West Coast ports, have declined since August. Cargo traffic through the Port of Los Angeles is down 25% over the past three months compared to last year and 17.3% compared to the five-year average. Those shipments are now flowing into Gulf Coast ports such as Savannah and New Orleans, as well as East Coast ports in New York and New Jersey.
"The record volume of cargo continues," Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said at a news conference last month. "Our goal is to retain as much of that business as possible," said a spokesman for the Port of New York and the State of New Jersey.
The CNN report said the shift stemmed from concerns over an unresolved labor contract between the International Warehousing Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA). About 20,000 longshoremen at West Coast ports, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, have been working without a contract since July 1. Despite assurances from both sides that there will be no strike, retailers remain concerned that prolonged talks could lead to a walkout.
The risk of a port strike is heightened by the fact that the US freight rail strike has all but sent the US economy into a supply chain spiral. A longshoreman strike would cripple West Coast and U.S. supply chains, putting more traffic and pressure on other smaller East Coast and Gulf ports.
"We dodged the rail strike, and the retail supply chain should be able to handle the remaining weeks of the holiday season easily," Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, said in a statement. . "What retailers and other shippers are worried about is the uncertainty," he explained to CNN. They don't want to get into a situation where there could be disruption because of labor conditions or whatever." .
The Port of New York and New Jersey says it has been able to handle additional shipments in a timely manner and is not giving up any new business. Winter is typically a slow season for imports, but shipments will pick up again after the Chinese New Year in February, as retailers are already looking to bring back-to-school and holiday shopping back to the United States.
A orrific traffic accident on the Pacific Railroad during the 2021 holiday shopping season, which left retailers with empty shelves, has lessons for shifting East Coast ports.
For the past 22 years, the Port of Los Angeles has been the busiest container port in North America, moving about 10 million containers full of cargo for Americans and generating about $500 million a year for California. But for the past three months, the Port of New York and New Jersey have been No. 1.
The change in the U.S. supply chain is designed to get goods to consumers faster and cheaper, according to CNN. The vast majority of foreign-made goods, from furniture and clothing to auto parts, arrive in the United States on cargo ships that unload at American ports.
"We have to get the cargo back," Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said at a recent news conference.
Iports into Los Angeles and Long Beach, the two main West Coast ports, have declined since August. Cargo traffic through the Port of Los Angeles is down 25% over the past three months compared to last year and 17.3% compared to the five-year average. Those shipments are now flowing into Gulf Coast ports such as Savannah and New Orleans, as well as East Coast ports in New York and New Jersey.
"The record volume of cargo continues," Rick Cotton, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said at a news conference last month. "Our goal is to retain as much of that business as possible," said a spokesman for the Port of New York and the State of New Jersey.
The CNN report said the shift stemmed from concerns over an unresolved labor contract between the International Warehousing Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA). About 20,000 longshoremen at West Coast ports, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, have been working without a contract since July 1. Despite assurances from both sides that there will be no strike, retailers remain concerned that prolonged talks could lead to a walkout.
The risk of a port strike is heightened by the fact that the US freight rail strike has all but sent the US economy into a supply chain spiral. A longshoreman strike would cripple West Coast and U.S. supply chains, putting more traffic and pressure on other smaller East Coast and Gulf ports.
"We dodged the rail strike, and the retail supply chain should be able to handle the remaining weeks of the holiday season easily," Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, said in a statement. . "What retailers and other shippers are worried about is the uncertainty," he explained to CNN. They don't want to get into a situation where there could be disruption because of labor conditions or whatever." .
The Port of New York and New Jersey says it has been able to handle additional shipments in a timely manner and is not giving up any new business. Winter is typically a slow season for imports, but shipments will pick up again after the Chinese New Year in February, as retailers are already looking to bring back-to-school and holiday shopping back to the United States.
A orrific traffic accident on the Pacific Railroad during the 2021 holiday shopping season, which left retailers with empty shelves, has lessons for shifting East Coast ports.