By Mark Edward Nero
September 2015 container volumes at the Port of Los Angeles were down nearly six percent compared to the same period last year, according to data released by the port Oct. 15.
Although the POLA handled a total of 730,306 TEUs last month, it was still down 5.8 percent from the same month last year. September 2014 was among the strongest months for container shipping in the port’s history.
“While we fell short of last September's exceptional volume of 775,000 TEUs, I’m encouraged by the productivity our terminals and supply chain partners have demonstrated over the past six months,” Port of Los Angeles Director Gene Seroka said in a statement. “We are experiencing a consistent pattern of larger ships and more efficient cargo conveyance at volumes that are market leading.”
Imports decreased last month by 9.4 percent to 383,963 TEUs in September 2015 and exports declined 17.5 percent to 124,286 TEUs. The number of empty containers moved during the month increased 9.4 percent during the month however, with the empty containers going mostly overseas to be filled with goods coming to the U.S. in preparation to be sold during the holiday season.
For the first nine months of 2015, the overall container volume of 6.11 million TEUs represents a 2.9 percent drop compared to the same period in 2014.
For the fiscal year, which began July 1, volumes are down 1.5 percent compared to the same three months in the previous fiscal year.
Current and past data container counts for the Port of Los Angeles may be found at: http://www.portoflosangeles.org/maritime/stats.asp.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Two New Commissioners Join Port of Portland
By Mark Edward Nero
On Oct. 14, the nine-person Port of Portland Commission welcomed new commissioners, Alice Cuprill-Comas and Gary Young, both of whom were nominated by Gov. Kate Brown and confirmed by the Oregon State Senate.
Cuprill-Comas of Portland is a transactional lawyer and is currently legal counsel at Oregon Health & Science University. A member of the Oregon, Washington and Texas State bars, she was in private practice for more than 15 years, most recently as a partner at Ater, Wynne, LLC in Portland.
She has also served as general counsel to Prometheus Energy Co., an alternative fuels company with international operations headquartered in Seattle.
Young is a native Oregonian and has lived in the Portland area all his life. Since 2013, he has been the business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48 and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the 4,400-member local. He is directly involved in contract negotiations, health and welfare and pension trusts, as well as being politically active on behalf of the membership he serves in regards to legislation that affects wages, hours and working conditions.
Young and his wife, Carla, live in Boring.
Cuprill-Comas replaces Commissioner Paul Rosenbaum, who was the Commission’s vice president, and is CEO and board chairman of SWR Corp. Young replaces Commissioner Bruce Holte, a longshoreman and member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Rosenbaum and Holte were both termed out earlier this year after two four-year terms on the board.
On Oct. 14, the nine-person Port of Portland Commission welcomed new commissioners, Alice Cuprill-Comas and Gary Young, both of whom were nominated by Gov. Kate Brown and confirmed by the Oregon State Senate.
Cuprill-Comas of Portland is a transactional lawyer and is currently legal counsel at Oregon Health & Science University. A member of the Oregon, Washington and Texas State bars, she was in private practice for more than 15 years, most recently as a partner at Ater, Wynne, LLC in Portland.
She has also served as general counsel to Prometheus Energy Co., an alternative fuels company with international operations headquartered in Seattle.
Young is a native Oregonian and has lived in the Portland area all his life. Since 2013, he has been the business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48 and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the 4,400-member local. He is directly involved in contract negotiations, health and welfare and pension trusts, as well as being politically active on behalf of the membership he serves in regards to legislation that affects wages, hours and working conditions.
Young and his wife, Carla, live in Boring.
Cuprill-Comas replaces Commissioner Paul Rosenbaum, who was the Commission’s vice president, and is CEO and board chairman of SWR Corp. Young replaces Commissioner Bruce Holte, a longshoreman and member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Rosenbaum and Holte were both termed out earlier this year after two four-year terms on the board.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Transport Secretary Releases Freight Strategic Plan
By Mark Edward Nero
On Oct. 18, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx released the draft National Freight Strategic Plan, which offers specific policy proposals and solutions to address the growing challenges of moving freight in America.
The draft plan was unveiled by Foxx in Seattle. He was joined for the announcement by Sen. Maria Cantwell at Seattle Public School Headquarters.
The draft proposes solutions and strategies to address the infrastructure, institutional and financial bottlenecks that hinder the safe and efficient movement of goods, plus identifies successful programs already in place to improve freight planning and investment, and proposes new programs and ideas that could make more progress possible.
“With an increasingly competitive and complex global marketplace and a deteriorating transportation infrastructure that is unfortunately showing the effects of age and underinvestment, the need for us to have a national freight plan could not be more urgent,” Foxx said.
According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, freight shipments last month reached an all-time high and 30.4 percent higher than the low in April 2009 during the recession. Concerns remain within the US government that the country’s infrastructure can’t accommodate continued growth: In the next 30 years America’s population is expected to grow by 70 million people, while freight traffic is expected to increase by 42 percent by 2040.
Specific strategies include:
• Ensuring dedicated freight funding. The draft plan emphasizes the importance of a dedicated freight program to improve the movement of freight and meet regional economic demand. It would also require or incentivize State Freight Advisory Committees, State Freight Plans, and cross-jurisdictional/cooperative planning.
• Identification of major trade gateways and multimodal national freight networks/corridors. The Dept. of Transportation is releasing a draft Multimodal Freight Network map to inform planners, private sector stakeholders, and the public about where major freight flows occur and where special attention to freight issues may be most warranted.
• Continuing to support local, state, and interagency collaboration, including close cooperation with port authorities, private sector stakeholders, and agencies in Canada and Mexico; sharing best practices for freight planning; supporting advisory committees and public forums with stakeholders; and encouraging effective use of funding available at the national level.
Other strategies outlined include: development and deployment of newer and more advanced freight data resources; improvement of safety and support of the adoption of new transportation technologies; and development of the next generation freight transportation workforce.
“Congestion on rails, surface streets, and at our ports across the Pacific Northwest costs businesses billions of dollars a year and gives an edge to competitors around the globe. The National Freight Strategic Plan means places like Seattle and Tacoma will be part of our national strategy to quickly move products through traffic congested areas,” Cantwell said. More information about the draft plan is available at www.transportation.gov/freight.
On Oct. 18, US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx released the draft National Freight Strategic Plan, which offers specific policy proposals and solutions to address the growing challenges of moving freight in America.
The draft plan was unveiled by Foxx in Seattle. He was joined for the announcement by Sen. Maria Cantwell at Seattle Public School Headquarters.
The draft proposes solutions and strategies to address the infrastructure, institutional and financial bottlenecks that hinder the safe and efficient movement of goods, plus identifies successful programs already in place to improve freight planning and investment, and proposes new programs and ideas that could make more progress possible.
“With an increasingly competitive and complex global marketplace and a deteriorating transportation infrastructure that is unfortunately showing the effects of age and underinvestment, the need for us to have a national freight plan could not be more urgent,” Foxx said.
According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, freight shipments last month reached an all-time high and 30.4 percent higher than the low in April 2009 during the recession. Concerns remain within the US government that the country’s infrastructure can’t accommodate continued growth: In the next 30 years America’s population is expected to grow by 70 million people, while freight traffic is expected to increase by 42 percent by 2040.
Specific strategies include:
• Ensuring dedicated freight funding. The draft plan emphasizes the importance of a dedicated freight program to improve the movement of freight and meet regional economic demand. It would also require or incentivize State Freight Advisory Committees, State Freight Plans, and cross-jurisdictional/cooperative planning.
• Identification of major trade gateways and multimodal national freight networks/corridors. The Dept. of Transportation is releasing a draft Multimodal Freight Network map to inform planners, private sector stakeholders, and the public about where major freight flows occur and where special attention to freight issues may be most warranted.
• Continuing to support local, state, and interagency collaboration, including close cooperation with port authorities, private sector stakeholders, and agencies in Canada and Mexico; sharing best practices for freight planning; supporting advisory committees and public forums with stakeholders; and encouraging effective use of funding available at the national level.
Other strategies outlined include: development and deployment of newer and more advanced freight data resources; improvement of safety and support of the adoption of new transportation technologies; and development of the next generation freight transportation workforce.
“Congestion on rails, surface streets, and at our ports across the Pacific Northwest costs businesses billions of dollars a year and gives an edge to competitors around the globe. The National Freight Strategic Plan means places like Seattle and Tacoma will be part of our national strategy to quickly move products through traffic congested areas,” Cantwell said. More information about the draft plan is available at www.transportation.gov/freight.
POLB Surpasses Pollution Reduction Goals
By Mark Edward Nero
The Port of Long Beach has surpassed every air pollution reduction milestone set for 2014 by its San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, according to an analysis released Oct. 13.
The latest annual inventory of port-related air pollution emissions found the port’s efforts to reduce pollution have cut diesel particulates by 85 percent since 2005, surpassing the Clean Air Action Plan goal for 2014 of a 72 percent reduction. The CAAP, created in 2006, outlines strategies to significantly reduce pollution from ships, locomotives, trucks, terminal equipment and harbor craft that move cargo.
In addition to the drop in diesel emissions, smog-forming nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides have dropped 50 percent and 97 percent respectively, according to the analysis. The corresponding goals for the year are 22 percent and 93 percent.
The reasons for the air quality improvements include the Clean Trucks Program, low-sulfur fuel regulations for ships, increased use of shore power for cargo ships and the port’s Green Flag Vessel Speed Reduction Program.
The 2014 levels of diesel particulates and sulfur dioxides improved from 2013 levels, when overall reductions were measured at 82 percent and 90 percent, respectively. However, nitrogen oxides increased slightly in the study, down 50 percent in 2014 compared to 54 percent in 2013.
Officials attributed the nitrogen oxide change to more passenger cruise ship calls -- 234 calls in 2014 compared to 123 the year prior -- and increased emissions from container ships at anchorage due to the traffic congestion last year.
“When the Clean Air Action Plan was adopted almost 10 years ago, the port made a promise to the community to reduce air pollution and to be a better neighbor,” Harbor Commission President Lori Ann Guzmán said in a statement. “While our work is not finished, these results show our commitment to living up to our responsibilities as the Green Port.”
For the complete emissions inventory, go to www.polb.com/emissions.
The Port of Long Beach has surpassed every air pollution reduction milestone set for 2014 by its San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, according to an analysis released Oct. 13.
The latest annual inventory of port-related air pollution emissions found the port’s efforts to reduce pollution have cut diesel particulates by 85 percent since 2005, surpassing the Clean Air Action Plan goal for 2014 of a 72 percent reduction. The CAAP, created in 2006, outlines strategies to significantly reduce pollution from ships, locomotives, trucks, terminal equipment and harbor craft that move cargo.
In addition to the drop in diesel emissions, smog-forming nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides have dropped 50 percent and 97 percent respectively, according to the analysis. The corresponding goals for the year are 22 percent and 93 percent.
The reasons for the air quality improvements include the Clean Trucks Program, low-sulfur fuel regulations for ships, increased use of shore power for cargo ships and the port’s Green Flag Vessel Speed Reduction Program.
The 2014 levels of diesel particulates and sulfur dioxides improved from 2013 levels, when overall reductions were measured at 82 percent and 90 percent, respectively. However, nitrogen oxides increased slightly in the study, down 50 percent in 2014 compared to 54 percent in 2013.
Officials attributed the nitrogen oxide change to more passenger cruise ship calls -- 234 calls in 2014 compared to 123 the year prior -- and increased emissions from container ships at anchorage due to the traffic congestion last year.
“When the Clean Air Action Plan was adopted almost 10 years ago, the port made a promise to the community to reduce air pollution and to be a better neighbor,” Harbor Commission President Lori Ann Guzmán said in a statement. “While our work is not finished, these results show our commitment to living up to our responsibilities as the Green Port.”
For the complete emissions inventory, go to www.polb.com/emissions.
Friday, October 16, 2015
Alaska, DOJ End Exxon Valdez Litigation
By Mark Edward Nero
On Oct. 15, the US and Alaska governments dropped their remaining legal claims against Exxon Mobil Corp regarding the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, saying wildlife affected by the disaster have sufficiently recovered.
The US Department of Justice and the Alaska Department of Law said they’re bringing to a close the federal and state judicial actions against ExxonMobil Corp. because Alaska harlequin ducks and sea otters thought in 2006 to have been impacted by lingering subsurface oil have recovered to pre-spill population levels.
“Scientists have concluded that exposure to the subsurface oil is no longer biologically significant to these species,” the DOJ said in a prepared statement. “Accordingly, the governments have decided to withdraw their 2006 request to Exxon to fund bio-restoration of subsurface lingering oil patches.”
The March 1989 grounding of the tanker vessel Exxon Valdez on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound spilled nearly 11 million gallons of North Slope crude oil that ultimately contaminated about 1,500 miles of Alaska’s coastline.
It affected three national parks, four national wildlife refuges, a national forest, five state parks, four state critical habitat areas, a state game sanctuary and killed enormous numbers of birds, marine mammals and fish and disrupted the lives and livelihoods of Alaskans who rely on those resources.
On Oct. 8, 1991, a US District Court judge approved both a plea agreement resolving criminal charges against Exxon and a settlement agreement between Exxon and the United States and the State of Alaska resolving all civil claims pertaining to the spill.
Under the plea agreement, the company paid $125 million for a criminal fine and restitution. The settlement required Exxon to pay the governments $900 million over 10 years to reimburse past costs and fund the restoration of injured natural resources.
One unresolved aspect of the 1991 settlement had been a provision entitled “Reopener for Unknown Injury” that allowed the two governments to seek up to an additional $100 million if they later found substantial losses or declines in populations, habitats or species that could not have been anticipated at the time of the settlement.
“Although we will not be pursuing Exxon for additional damages, our decision today does not close the book on lingering oil,” Alaska Attorney General Craig Richards said. “We are fortunate to have alternatives for dealing with this issue that can be undertaken without the constraints of the Reopener language.”
Grays Harbor Approves CNG Facility
By Mark Edward Nero
At an Oct. 13 meeting, the Port of Grays Harbor Commission approved a ten-year lease for 4.3 acres with Xpress Natural Gas LLC, paving the way for the port to eventually become landlord to a $3 million compressed natural gas facility.
Xpress Natural Gas has been given approval to build a compressed natural gas distribution terminal that in the port’s Satsop Business Park area that would utilize the existing natural gas line to fill portable tubes for transport to industrial customers throughout the region.
An additional $2 million would be invested in the fleet of CNG trucks and trailers that will service XNG’s customers. The operation would be manned 24 hours per day and XNG said it expects to employ 20-25 people at full build out, in addition to the construction and trucking service jobs that would be generated.
XNG operates similar facilities in New York and Maine.
“Energy is a growing sector of our nation’s economy and we are excited a new business will be able to take advantage of one of the Park’s great assets, the natural gas line,” said Alissa Shay, Satsop Business Park’s manager of business development.
XNG is a Boston-based logistics and transportation company that manages a “virtual pipeline” that provides trucked natural gas solutions to locations where a pipeline does not provide gas service.
XNG operates one of the largest fleet of high-capacity, all-composite CNG trailers in North America and is the only provider of CNG services using CNG-powered tractor-trucks.
Satsop Business Park is less than two hours southwest of Seattle and two hours north of Portland. The 1,800-acre mixed-use business and industrial park is also 30 minutes from Olympia, Wash. and is home to over 30 businesses on 600 acres of developed land.
POLA Greenlights Waterfront Promenade
By Mark Edward Nero
The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved the design contract for the future Wilmington Waterfront Promenade by unanimously approving Boston-based design firm Sasaki Associates, Inc. to conduct engineering, architectural and landscaping design services for the $52.7 million project.
The promenade is designed to measure about 1,300 feet in length and 30 feet wide, and provide public access to the water’s edge in front and adjacent to the Banning’s Landing Community Center. From Berths 184 to 186 behind the promenade, the project is to include a 2.5-acre public pedestrian plaza.
A 1.25-acre parking court and/or event space will also be constructed between the promenade and Water Street. Additionally, landscaping and a parking lot will be added north of the new plaza.
The promenade was among six public improvement projects – three in Wilmington and three in San Pedro – approved last February as part of the Port of LA’s Public Access Investment Plan. The engineering, architectural and landscaping design phase of the promenade project is expected to cost $3.19 million and be completed by mid-2018.
Design of the project entails street realignment to parallel existing railroad tracks, and a freight facility currently on the property is expected to be demolished. Project improvements also entails landscaping, irrigation, signage, lighting, as well as site furnishing like public seating, bike racks and public drinking fountains.
“Engaging a design firm for the promenade project puts us one step closer to bringing this vibrant and highly visible improvement to the Wilmington community,” Ambassador Vilma Martinez, president of the Los Angeles Harbor Commission said.
Contractor Sasaki Associates was also the lead design firm on the 30-acre Wilmington Waterfront Park, which was completed in 2011.
