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Five Major Ports Five Different Ways to Handle the Recession By Peter Hull February’s Port Tracker, the monthly industry report by the National Retail Federation and market analysts Global Insight, confirmed the fears of many in the port industry. That is, retail container traffic at major U.S. and Canadian ports is forecast to fall by nearly 12 percent during the first half of the year as the global economic slump gnaws at global shipping. This comes on the back of some sobering numbers from 2008: container volume down nearly 8 percent; December cargo volume down more than 17 percent from December 2007; December marked 18 consecutive months of lower year-on-year cargo volume. Small wonder that, as the meltdown continues, ports from coast to coast are rolling back rates, tweaking gate hours, and even cutting staff. Charleston Rate Roll-Back in In Charleston, port officials put up the Winter Sale signs in December when the South Carolina State Ports Authority announced an across-the-board rate discount at the Port of Charleston, designed to provide “near-term relief” to its customers. From January 1 through March 31, the port’s “Mid-Winter Rate Roll-Back” reduced contract unit fees for container carriers by 5 percent. The roll-back wasn’t designed to generate new business, but rather provide some relief to the port’s customers during the tough economic times, port officials said. While there are no plans to extend the discount period, the port is “getting very aggressive with pricing for all its customers,” a port official said. Savannah Absorbing Costs At the nearby Port of Savannah, the Georgia Ports Authority has absorbed the cost of early and late hours at gates on several week days. Savannah — America’s fastest-growing port for the last two years — saw only 2 percent growth in 2008. And with a decline of about 12 percent forecast for the first quarter this year, the authority has dropped its night gates on Thursdays. Virginia Cutting Gate House Hours Moving north, the Virginia Port Authority is cutting back on gate hours and leaving some equipment standing idle to cut back on operating costs — and longshoremen are working split shifts. If it used to take a crew 16 hours to work a ship, those hours were guaranteed. Now, once a crew has pulled an 8-hour shift, they’re done for the day and another crew takes over working the vessel. NY & NJ Offering Incentives At the East Coast’s biggest port complex, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, port officials have introduced incentives designed to encourage steamship lines to move more containers via the authority’s ExpressRail service. The authority will pay ocean carriers that use the intermodal service $25 for every container shipped, in addition to the number of boxes transported in 2008. The authority receives $52 per ExpressRail container. Under the incentive program, carriers will pay $27 for each container in excess of last year’s total. The authority is in effect discounting the service if the carriers increase business. Seattle & Oakland Employees Take Leave On the other side of the country on the West Coast, the Port of Seattle told 850 of its non-union employees to take two weeks unpaid leave as the port grapples with a projected $9 million budget shortfall. Non-union workers from the chief executive down will take the furlough. Officials estimate the measures will save the port nearly $3 million. Port officials said that furloughs could be extended to its approximately 850 unionized workers, plus travel restrictions, and wage and hiring freezes for other staff. At the end of last year, officials at the Port of Oakland introduced similar measures by laying off non-essential staff for 13 days during the current fiscal year. LA/LB Reducing Operation Costs And saving the biggest for last…the sprawling ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have reduced operating costs through hiring freezes, reduced travel, cuts in overtime, and other steps.	In This Issue News, Trends & Analysis New Items Inventory Investment and the Implications on GDP Growth Supply Chain Responding to Changes in the Supply Chain Compliance Corner: How to Utilize Technology to Manage Global Trade Compliance Overseas Opportunities for Exporters Create a Strategy before Cutting Costs Features Gateway at a Glance – Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway 2009 Ro-Ro Trend Supply Chain product review Automotive Supply Chain Software Ports & infrastructure Five Major Ports, Five Different Ways to Handle the Recession Funding a National Freight Policy Commentary Will the Stimulus Package Help the Trade Conditions? Casualties Who, What, Where, When Final Say
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Five Major Ports Five Different Ways to Handle the Recession

Five Major Ports
Five Different Ways to Handle the Recession