The International Longshoremen’s Association said its members overwhelmingly approved a new, six-year master contract.
The contract covers some 14,500 workers at 14 ports that handle containerized cargo along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coast.
The settlement ends more than a year of negotiations between employers, represented by the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) and ILA. With the assistance of the offices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services, the ILA and USMX negotiated well beyond the original contract deadline of Sept. 30, 2012, agreeing to a series of extensions that kept ports open.
USMX membership consists of 24 container carrier members, including the 10 largest carriers worldwide, and every major marine terminal operator and port association on the East and Gulf Coasts.

Source: American Shipper (www.americanshipper.com)

Key points made in this report include:

*The balance of influence of trade is shifting from Asia to Latin America and from US West coast to US Gulf Coast/East Coast.

*Latin America is the next big growth opportunity.

*The Great Lakes region is the often-overlooked “fourth coast” and the undisputed leader in bulk cargo trade.

Union negotiators will join the talks, Wong Yu-loy, a representative of the Union of Hong Kong Dockers, said by phone yesterday. Hongkong International Terminals executives will also attend the meetings, according to a transcript of remarks by Matthew Cheung, Hong Kong secretary for labor and welfare, published on the government’s website yesterday. The government arranged the meetings, he said.

The dockworkers, who are employed by contractors instead of the company directly, have been on a strike since March 28 to demand an increase of about 25 percent in wages. Shipping lines including Evergreen Marine Corp Taiwan Ltd. (2603) and Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. (9104) have diverted vessels or skipped calling at Hong Kong, as the strike threatens the city’s reputation as a trade hub for China.

“I appeal to all parties concerned to really seize this opportunity,” Cheung said in his remarks, adding that a solution “must be in the interest not only of employees and workers, not only in the interest of the companies concerned and contractors, but also in the overall interest of Hong Kong. It is very very important because the port itself is very important to Hong Kong’s economy.”

A vessel currently needs to anchor outside of Hong Kong port for two to four days before berthing, compared with no waiting period before the strike, said Paul Tsui, chairman of Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics Ltd., which represents 345 freight forwarders in the city.

Wage Demands

About 250 workers remained on the street outside the entrance of the port terminal in Hong Kong’s Kwai Tsing district, the union’s Wong said. Labor discontent has risen as the former British colony’s wealth gap widened the most since records started in 1971.

Hongkong International Terminals is now running at about 80 percent of usual operating levels as an increasing number of workers are returning, the company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Daily loss narrowed to HK$2.4 million ($309,100) on April 5 from HK$5 million earlier, the company said.

The workers are demanding that hourly wages rise by HK$12.50 from about HK$50, the dockworkers’ union said earlier. Strikers won’t accept an offer of a 5 percent pay increase, RTHK reported on April 3, citing Lee Cheuk-yan, a lawmaker from Hong Kong’s Labor Party.

The government plans to preside at talks including the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, its unions, two contractors and representatives of Hongkong International Terminals starting at 10 a.m. today, it said on its website yesterday. The Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions and the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions are set to take part in a separate discussion from 2:30 p.m.

Hongkong International Terminals is operated by Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPHT), whose largest shareholder is Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (13) Hutchison Port controls more than half Hong Kong’s port capacity with its partner Cosco Pacific Ltd. (1199)

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-09/hong-kong-port-workers-to-hold-talks-as-strike-enters-13th-day.html

Brazil’s Santos Brasil Participacoes SA, the country’s largest shipping-container operator, faces as much as 2 million reais (S$1.25 million) in losses from a half-day strike against a government port set for Friday.

Workers at the Santos port will walk off the job for six hours, according to Paulo Pereira da Silva, federal deputy and president of the Forca Sindical labour federation. Santos, the port-operations company, stands to lose as much as 4 million reais a day from work stoppages, according to chief commercial officer Mauro Salgado.

Port union leaders in Brazil, the largest exporter of sugar and orange juice, are protesting against government plans to cede control of as many as 95 terminals to private operators. President Dilma Rousseff has instructed officials to resist union pressure and continue with plans, which aim to attract 54.2 billion reais in private port investments and help jump-start an economy that grew at the slowest pace among major emerging markets last year.

Changing port ownership will lead to worker firings and worsening labour conditions, labour union leaders say. Government plans will improve ports by introducing new competition, according to chief of staff Gleisi Hoffmann.

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/premium/transport-hub/shipping/santos-port-operator-faces-losses-planned-strike-20130219

Crane Worldwide Logistics expects to increase its business significantly after winning a major contract with an unnamed oilfield services company.

The Houston-based logistics company has leased a 150,000-square-foot warehouse and office space in east Houston and has plans to increase its staff by about 15 percent since winning the contract.

Crane President John Magee told the Houston Business Journal that the company intends to use its new space, at 6501 Navigation, solely for the new contract. The space is intended to handle large, oversize pieces of equipment that can be shipped out of the Port of Houston.

Crane leased the Navigation space from the Levey Group, a Houston-based industrial real estate company.

Crane is also planning on leasing or buying a second space in May to serve the contract company. The second space likely will be about half the size of the first and be located in north Houston, Magee said.

In addition to the new space, Crane expects to add 30 to 40 new employees to its existing payroll of about 250 to work at the new facilities. The company has already hired about 20 of these employees.

“It’s a great contract in a collaboration to change some of (the oilfield service company’s) supply chain strategy,” Magee said.

Crane is not the only Houston logistics company expanding its space. Due to the oil and gas industry boom, multiple logistics companies are entering or expanding their energy services businesses.

See the article here: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2013/02/11/crane-worldwide-invests-in-new-space.html?ana=e_du_pub&s=article_du&ed=2013-02-11

East and Gulf Coast dockworkers and management reached a tentative agreement at week’s end, averting a threatened strike set for Wednesday, the Baltimore Sun reported.

The six-year deal, which covers ports from Maine to Texas, is still subject to ratification by the International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents 14,500 dockworkers.

A strike would have affected Philadelphia’s ports but had little to no impact on Delaware River ports in South Jersey and Delaware.

From the Baltimore Business Journal

648 flights at Newark Liberty International Airport
605 flights at LaGuardia Airport
512 flights at John F. Kennedy International Airport
514 flights at Logan International Airport
229 flights at O’Hare International Airport
122 flights at Washington Dulles International Airport
116 flights at Philadelphia International Airport

Airlines have begun announcing flight cancellations and the following policies for affected travellers. The storm is expected to pass through on Saturday.

• Delta Air Lines: Cancelling flights at Northeast      airports Friday; most cancellations after noon EST; Offering customers in      the Northeast, Ottawa, and Montreal whose flight may be affected by the      storm the ability to make one-time changes to their travel schedules      without fees; Customers booked on Delta-ticketed flights to, from or      through the affected cities Feb. 8-9 may immediately rebook for travel      before or after their original travel dates as long as new flights are      ticketed and rescheduled with travel beginning by Feb. 12, 2013.
• American      Airlines: Customers ticketed to travel on AA flights to, through or      from affected airports may change flights if the ticket was issued no      later than Feb. 6. The ticket reissue charge will be waived for one ticket      change.
•  Jet       Blue: Waive change/cancel fees and fare differences for      customers traveling Friday, February 8-9 to or from affected cities;      Customers may rebook their flights for travel through Tuesday, Feb.12.
• US Airways:      Affected customers can change their trip online (in most cases) and US      Airways will waive change fees.
• United      Airlines: Giving customers as much notice as possible so they can      adjust their plans accordingly, and customers with flexibility can take      advantage of a travel waiver in place for those traveling to and through      32 airports in the Northeast. All waiver information is available on      united.com.
• Southwest      Airlines: Customers with reservations to/from affected cities on Feb.      8-9 are eligible to reschedule their flight in accordance with Southwest’s      accommodation procedures.
• weather.com      Flight Tracker: Check the status of your flight

Please note that the adverse weather may also impact public transport to and from the airport.

The storm is being described as having historic proportions bringing heavy snow, sleet, hail, rain and hurricane-force winds from Connecticut up to Maine. Forecasters are warning the public of widespread power outages, structural damage, some coastal flooding and paralyzed road, rail and air transport networks.