The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles should see steady
growth of containerized cargo imports and exports during 2013 as the U.S.
economic picture improves, a panel of industry experts predicts.
During the annual “Pulse of the Ports Peak Season Forecast”
on March 27 in Long Beach, representatives for the retail, shipping and
terminal operating sectors as well as an economist, predicted three to six
percent growth in freight volume during the upcoming cargo peak season, from
August through October.
The San Pedro Bay ports themselves predict a 3.4 percent
nationwide increase in imports in 2013. The outlook compares favorably to
recent years when experts were still waiting to see some concrete signs of
economic recovery at home and worldwide.
“All the wheels are turning in the right direction,”
panelist Walter Kemmsies, the chief economist for the Moffat & Nichol
transportation infrastructure engineering firm, said. “We expect the economy to
be better this year than last year.”
The positive outlook was tempered, however, by concerns over
the looming reduction in staffing by US Customs and Border Protection at
seaports due to the federal government’s mandatory “sequestration” budget cuts.
Customs has cut worker overtime due to sequestration and could eventually
furlough employees. This, Pacific Merchant Shipping Association President John
McLaurin said, hurts the San Pedro Bay ports, since they rely heavily on
Customs personnel working overtime for inspection services.
The panel also expressed concern over economic impacts of
state-by-state environmental regulations and hurdles that hamper the
productivity of drayage trucking operations at local ports.
The ninth annual Peak Season Forecast, which was held in
downtown Long Beach, drew a capacity audience of nearly 600 people and featured
nine panelists from every segment of the industry.
In addition to Kemmsies and McLaurin, the other panelists
were Jonathan Gold, the National Retail Federation’s Vice President of Supply
Chain & Customs Policy; Erika Montoya, Program Director for the Specialty
Crop Trade Council; International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63
President Michael Podue; Chad Lindsay, Vice President of the Pacific Maritime
Association; Knud Stubkjær, CEO and Chief Strategic Officer for SSA Marine;
Steve Bobb, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer for BNSF
Railway; and Vic La Rosa, CEO/President of Total Transportation Services Inc.
The archived webcast of the two-and-a-half-hour program is
available online at http://www.polb.com/pulseports.
