Shipping bottleneck strains US importers
US importers can expect another year of supply bottlenecks and rising supply-chain costs because of congestion in west coast ports, transport industry executives and analysts have warned.
Surging trade with China is increasing the strain on Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together receive nearly 80 per cent of traffic to the western US. The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents west coast ports, predicts import volumes will increase by a further 14 per cent on average this year the same rate as last year.
Last year container ships bound for California had to wait offshore for several days before a berth became free, delaying deliveries to retailers and pushing up costs for carriers and shippers.
The ports, with their powerful labour unions, limited working hours and outdated technology, must increase investment and productivity if further disruption is to be averted, executives and analysts warned.
“ The congestion we faced [in the US] last year is likely to be repeated this year,” David Lim, chief executive of Neptune Orient Lines, a Singapore-based ocean freight carrier, told a conference on trans-Pacific shipping this week. “There is a need for closer co-ordination between industry, government and other interested parties to make sure much-needed investment [in US ports] is not further delayed.”
If congestion persists, routing Asian-made goods through the Suez Canal and across the Atlantic might become a viable alternative, said John Isbell, director of logistics for Nike, the sports clothing brand.
Ports across Europe have also struggled to increase capacity, and analysts expect any delays on the west coast to have knock-on effects for shipping schedules and tonnage rates around the world.
Shippers have sought to bypass west coast congestion by redirecting cargo through the Panama Canal to east coast ports, such as Savannah and New York. But this is pushing the canal towards full capacity and forcing sharp increases in rates.
Mexican ports and more northerly west coast terminals, such as Seattle and Vancouver, have also absorbed some overspill but analysts said they were not big enough to solve the crisis.
Tom Ward, marine specialist at JWD, an architecture and engineering group, said west coast ports had room to expand, but needed to hire more workers, work longer hours, introduce more advanced technology and maximise use of dockside space.
Several speakers at this week's conference also called for improvement in the congested roads and railways that serve the ports, particularly around Los Angeles and Long Beach. The biggest container ships carry enough cargo to fill 27 miles of train wagons and 60 miles of trucks.
Executives from Union Pacific and BNSF, two of the main rail operators serving the west coast, said they were building new cargo-handling facilities.
Additional reporting by Robert Wright
Capital Markets, Page 31 中美航运猛增 堵塞美国港口
运输业高管和分析师警告说，美国进口商可以预期供应瓶颈今年将再次出现，且供应链成本上升，因为西海岸各港口非常堵塞。
由于对华贸易迅猛增长，目前洛杉矶港和长滩港吃紧，这两个港口总共接收近 80% 至美国西部的物流。代表西海岸各港口的太平洋海事协会 (Pacific Maritime Association) 预计，今年进口量将平均再增长 14% ，增幅与去年持平。
去年，目的地为加州的集装箱货轮必须在海上等待数日，才能等到空余泊位，这拖延了向零售商交货的时间，并推高了承运商和货主的成本。
高管和分析师警告说，这些港口工会势力强大、工时限制严格且技术过时，要想避免再次出现作业中断，必须增加投资并提高劳动生产率。
“我们去年在美国遇到的堵塞情况今年可能要重演，”新加坡远洋货运公司“海皇轮船” (Neptune Orient Lines) 的首席执行官林得恩 (David Lim) 本周在跨太平洋航运会议上对与会者说，“行业、政府和其它相关各方之间有必要加强协调，以确保美国港口急需的投资不再被进一步耽误。”
运动服饰品牌耐克 (Nike) 的物流总监约翰?伊斯贝尔 (John Isbell) 表示，如果堵塞现象继续存在，取道苏伊士运河、然后横跨大西洋运送亚洲制造的货物或许是个可行的替代办法。
欧洲各地的港口也一直在竭力增加港口吞吐量，分析师预计，西海岸出现任何延误，都将对世界各地的海运进度和运费产生连锁反应。
海运商一直在试图避开西海岸的堵塞状况，方法是重新安排货船航线，经巴拿马运河到达萨凡纳和纽约等美国东海岸港口。但这正使巴拿马运河容量逼近饱和，并使运费急剧上涨。
墨西哥的各个港口以及西雅图、温哥华等几个偏北的西海岸港口也已吸纳了一些过剩货物，但分析师表示，这些港口吞吐量还不够大，不足以解决这场危机。
