Date: Friday, September 17, 2004

Re:	West Coast Congestion (Page 1 of 2) (Page 2 in pdf format)

Dear NASA Member:

As mentioned in a Newsflash last week, congestion on the West Coast continues to be a major issue. The backlog of vessels in LA/Long Beach in particular continues to cause severe delays and has now resulted in some steamship lines discharging cargo at alternate ports and then using feeders to service Southern California.

We do not anticipate that this situation will improve over the next 6-8 weeks. In light of this we have approached several lines to find out the costs of discharging on the East Coast or in Houston and then moving the cargo on a through bill of lading to various rail ramps on the West Coast.

If you were to decide to use this type of service you can expect to pay your standard East Coast/Gulf rates for the ocean transportation and additional on-carriage as outlined in the attached spreadsheet. It is important to note that this is another possible shipping option, but in no way is a cure all for this situation. Congestion on the rail and delays in rail connections should be expected. We also encourage you to take vessel space into consideration if you decide to ship this way and not to make your decision solely based on the least expensive option listed.

Lastly, JF Hillebrand has been negotiating a third option which would involve the use of railcars. The program would involve unloading the ocean containers in New Jersey and reloading into railcars destined for the West Coast.

Deconsolidation and delivery would then be arranged from there. For your reference a railcar can handle the cargo from approximately 3 full 40'dry containers.

If you are interested in rates for this program please contact the JF Hillebrand office in New Jersey or send an e-mail to David Ferris at d.ferris@jfhillebrand.com.

Thank you for your continued support.

Best regards,

Judy Mannix
Administration