US Rail Labor Update – Congressional Action underway Congress is voting on legislation to intervene on a potential rail strike. A bill has passed the House today and will move to the Senate.  If Congress agrees to enact legislation, this would eliminate a legal rail strike; workers could still organize a walkout but could be replaced or ordered back through an injunction process. The situation is still evolving, but you can read today’s article in Freight Waves here. Local office early closing…

The Port of Houston is the latest port to introduce long-term container dwell fees on imports at Barbours Cut and Bayport container terminals. Sustained Import Dwell Fee  Starting December 1st, 2022, the Sustained Import Dwell Fee of $45 ​​​​​per unit per day fee will be assessed on the eighth day after the expiration of free time.  The fee will be charged to the beneficial cargo owner (BCO) in order to release the unit from the terminal.   The Sustained Import Dwell Fee is…

Spain / Trucking Strike Cancelled ​​​​​​The transport strike in Spain this week was called off after failing to gather enough support from transport association and unions through the country.  The strike only caused some disruption in the port of Algeciras.   Australia / Tugboat Strike November 18, 2022  Tugboat operator Svitzer will start an indefinite lockout on Friday November 18, 222 that will impact multiple ports around Australia.  The dispute is an escalation of union industrial action since October that has added up to 2,000…

UK / Liverpool Port Strike Postponed In a positive development, the Unite union reached an agreement with Peel Ports Group and the Liverpool Port strike, previously announced to start on November 14th, 2022, will be postponed to allow members to vote on the new agreement later this week.    US / Rail Labor Update Yesterday the Association of American Railroads (AAR) issued a press release that the BMWED union has agreed to extend their cooling off period until December 4 so…

Due to Hurricane Nicole, Florida ports have announced closures as follows:  Miami – POMTOC Gate will be closed Wednesday and Thursday Nov 9 – 10, 2022. The terminal anticipates re-opening with a holiday operations schedule on Friday Nov 11th Veterans Day.  SFCT will be closed on Wednesday Nov 9th, Thursday operations to be announced.  SFCT previously announced a holiday closure for Friday Nov 11th Veterans Day The Port of Jacksonville is open to limited inbound traffic until 3pm and all cargo operations…

Due to highway infrastructure damage from flooding in New Zealand’s south island, road construction is underway starting November 1, 2022 and is expected to last seven weeks.   Traffic will be rerouted via SH63 which will add to the transit time and incur additional charges due to heavily reduced capacity.  Plan for delays for packing, fitting and transport from this area.   In addition to current origin trucking rates, there will be an additional charge of NZD 450 per container plus fuel (FAF 28%) and…

​​​The Port of Oakland has closed terminals this morning citing a protest by the clerks union ILWU local 34.  This has stopped all work at Oakland terminals without any advance notice.  We will continue to monitor the situation to see the dispute can be resolved this morning or we will advise if there are further developments.    For more information on the impact to active or upcoming orders, please reach out to your representative to discuss your shipping concerns. 

USA Rail union rejects tentative agreement, revives strike risk The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way (BMWED) rail union has voted down the tentative rail labor agreement brokered last month.  So far four unions have approved the deal with seven unions scheduled to cast their votes through mid November.  This latest development triggers a “status quo” period in which no strike could take place until November 19th at the earliest.  If one union goes on strike, the remaining unions could refuse to…