According to the Port Tracker Report released last week, it looks like there may be a little easing on the horizon—at least in terms of the number of containers arriving at ports across the country The latest numbers are in for December and they reveal a slight decline in import volume—a drop of 1.2% when compared to November and 1% annually. Port Tracker estimates an annual increase of 1.5% when looking at the first half of 2022, which is significantly below the growth rate of 2021.
However, in direct contrast to the report, the Port of Long Beach just had its busiest January on record—up 6.9%—after breaking an annual record in 2021. The port also expects that the typical February slowdown will be lessened as they continue to work through the backlog.
In more news from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, terminal operators have withdrawn their request to extend traffic mitigation fees on daytime container moves. This seems to be in reaction to FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei’s charge that operators were more interested in generating extra profits than alleviating port congestion.
Speaking of extra profits, the annual reports of several operators are showing just how much profit they made last year. One example is Hutchison Port Holdings Trust (HPHT) which operates in China. They saw a 4% increase in throughput last year but report a net profit of 75% year over year. Other operates are also reporting increased profits for 2021.
Finally, the Federal Maritime Commission is considering launching an investigation into PierPass, a nonprofit company set up by terminal operators in Los Angeles and Long Beach. FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei is concerned that rates and fees charged by the company exceed covering the cost of operation and are gouging shippers instead.
For more on the week’s top stories, check out the article highlights below.
