P J Caputo Shipping Co Inc

10/01/2024

Dockworkers go on strike at ports across US East, Gulf coasts

Union dockworkers began striking against employers at ports across the U.S. East and Gulf coasts early Tuesday morning.

The strikes are expected to cost the U.S. $5 billion per day, by some estimates, and stunt supply chains across the Eastern Seaboard. This is the first time since 1977 that a port strike of this magnitude has rocked the country.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) is the union behind the strike against its United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employers for a new master contract. The two groups negotiated back and forth up until late Monday night, when the union’s deadline for a strike expired at midnight.

“USMX brought on this strike when they decided to hold firm to foreign-owned ocean carriers earning billion-dollar profits at United States ports, but not compensate the American ILA longshore workers who perform the labor that brings them their wealth,” said ILA President Harold Daggett, the leader of the 85,000-member ILA union, in a statement. “We are prepared to fight as long as necessary, to stay out on strike for whatever period of time it takes, to get the wages and protections against automation our ILA members deserve.”

The union said employers’ latest reported wage increase proposal of 50% over the six years of a new contract fell short of demands by its rank-and-file members to ratify a new contract.

“USMX owns this strike now,” said Daggett. “They now must meet our demands for this strike to end.”

The Teamsters union, meanwhile, announced its support for the longshoremen’s union in a news release Monday night.

“The ocean carriers are on strike against themselves after failing to negotiate a contract that recognizes the value of these workers,” the Teamsters stated in the release. “Our ILA brothers and sisters play a critical role in keeping the American economy running, and they deserve industry-leading wages and robust job protections for the vital work they perform.

“The U.S. government should stay the f— out of this fight and allow union workers to withhold their labor for the wages and benefits they have earned. Any workers — on the road, in the ports, in the air — should be able to fight for a better life free of government interference. Corporations for too long have been able to rely on political puppets to help them strip working people of their inherent leverage.”

09/17/2024

Dear Valued Customers,

As part of our ongoing commitment to keeping you informed, we would like to provide an update regarding the potential labor strike involving the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).

The ILA has announced that if a new labor contract with the USMX is not reached by September 30th, they will initiate a strike starting on October 1, 2024. The strike would affect all U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports from Maine to Texas. Both the ILA and USMX press releases indicate that the negotiations have been difficult, with substantial disagreements still unresolved between the two parties.

Currently, both parties are at an impasse. The USMX maintains that they are willing to continue negotiations. The ILA concluded meetings on September 5th and confirmed that they prepared a Strike Mobilization Plan if needed.

What This Means for You:

Potential Delays: Should a strike occur, operations at major U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports would be severely affected, leading to congestion and delays.

Port Diversions: The need to explore alternative port options to minimize disruptions and ensure that your cargo reaches its final destination as efficiently as possible.

Additional Costs: There could be increased costs related to demurrage, detention, and rerouting depending on how the situation develops.

Our Commitment: We understand that these uncertainties can create concerns for your supply chains. We are in communication with carriers and other key partners to assess the situation and provide you with timely updates. We will continue to share information as it becomes available, and we encourage you to reach out to your account manager with any specific questions or concerns.



https://ilaunion.org/ila-news/

https://www.usmx.com/resources/usmx-ila-negotiations-updates/

This page contains current and archival USMX-ILA NEGOTIATIONS UPDATES as pertains to the USMX-ILA Master Contract. The current 6-year agreement covers approximately 25,000 port workers employed in container and roll-on/roll-off operations at ports on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts and runs from Oc...

10/05/2021

Why are supply chains so messed up? When will things go back to normal?

Craig Fuller explains why supply chains are so messed up!

03/12/2020

Customer Advisory - March 12, 2020

COVID-19’s impact to North America export (Ocean) bookings

· Container availability and vessel space – tight

· Supply Chain Management and 4PL – are not affected

· EU/US travel ban does not affect sea/air shipments


COVID-19’s impact to container equipment flows worldwide has far-reaching effects as many of you have experienced with your export bookings here in North America – and the lack of empty equipment in many inland locations - and full ships sailing from North America ports.

This was caused by very low cargo volumes from China to North America since the start of Chinese New Year combined with the supply chain disruption of the Coronavirus. There have been more than 100 blank sailings in the Transpacific trade lane across our industry - which is more than double the amount we normally see post Chinese New Year.

As a result, here in North America, we are focused on supporting the equipment demands of a very strong export market and the inherent challenge of fewer vessel calls to load export cargo. Equipment shortages in inland locations are being seen in:

Toronto
Chicago
Atlanta
Columbus

Cleveland
Detroit
Fort Worth
Kansas City

Louisville
Memphis
Nashville
Phoenix

In addition, these locations are particularly restricted:

US Gulf: Houston & New Orleans impacted by significant blank sailings and low equipment stocks.
Pacific Northwest: Vancouver impacted significantly by blank sailings.
North America exports to Middle East, India & Pakistan: Space restricted due to significant blank sailings from Europe reducing our vessel space on connecting vessels.

In contrast, we are seeing booking and vessel space availability in the following areas - and we encourage customers who have options to consider routing cargo via these locations:

Pacific Southwest: Space and equipment available.
US East Coast: Space and equipment available - except for Middle East, India & Pakistan.
Montreal & Toronto: Space and equipment available - except for Middle East, India & Pakistan.

And lastly, we see two port locations with full vessels (rolling cargo) AND a surplus of empty equipment:

Seattle
Miami

Any day a terminal is closed, should not count that day as a working day within the customer’s freetime period for demurrage or detention.
If a terminal is restricting empty returns, we will not count that day as a working day within the freetime period for import detention.
For export detention, if the earliest receipt date changes for a shipment (while the container is in the customer’s possession for stuffing), we will extend the customer’s detention freetime through the new earliest receipt date for the shipment.
Any 3rd party expenses (chassis, storage depots) due to changes of terminal or vessel schedules will not be covered.

30 day US/EU travel ban

The US government’s announcement of a 30-day travel ban from Europe (the United Kingdom is exempt) to the United States as a precautionary measure against the further spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) will take effect on midnight Friday, March 13.

It is important to note this measure only applies to the movement of people – and will not affect the transportation of cargoes and logistics services.

Our Customer Service and Trade Management Teams are working closely every day to find solutions to minimize the business impact for your supply chain.

We also realize it is better to be upfront on what cargo we can handle successfully - and what cargo has risk for rolling – so we do not mislead your company and impact your end customer experience. Should you receive a booking cancellation - please understand we have exhausted all efforts to find a solution. Secondly, we have seen an increase in requests to Customer Service so we are seeking your patience and encourage you to contact us
via email, phone and chat.

We realize this entire situation impacts your business and we take it personally. We are working hard to find alternative solutions to keep your cargo moving and your supply chains intact in the weeks ahead.

05/14/2019

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05/08/2019

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04/30/2019

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10/31/2018

In a first, the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) will transport container cargo belonging to the food and beverage giant PepsiCo (India) from Kolkata to Varanasi on the Ganges

“It will be countrys first container movement on Inland Vessel post-independence scheduled on Tuesday,” the shipping ministry said in a statement.

05/31/2018

massive truck driver shortage = high inland rates

America has a shortage of 51,000 truck drivers. The job pays a middle-class wage, yet few people want it. Six drivers explain why.

04/16/2018

Oceangoing vessels carry over 80 percent of the world’s trade, with more than 90,000 merchant ships plying international waters. Tankers, bulk carriers, and container ships—the largest things on Earth that move—are by far the most important modes of transportation of our time.

A ship’s markings may look like hieroglyphs, but to industry insiders they tell an important story.

03/08/2018

A shipping container spotted bobbing up and down in waters off the Queensland coast has finally washed ashore.

01/05/2018

Navigational Clearance Achieved:
Largest Ship to Cross Panama Canal
Makes Grand Entrance through the newly raised Bayonne Bridge.