/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

South Korean shipbuilding industry to stop?

Accepting so many orders, so many people, and no salary increase, this job can't be done!

In the face of the tough attitude of the employers, the all-out strike at Hyundai Heavy Industries, which began on April 27, not only did not stop, but the war continued to spread and escalate. Today, in addition to Hyundai Heavy Industries, the trade unions of seven other major shipyards in South Korea have also announced their participation in the "team" to conduct a joint strike with Hyundai Heavy Industries.

South Korean shipbuilding industry to stop?
South Korean shipbuilding industry to stop?

How much to live? Hyundai Heavy Industries Labor Union "leads" seven major South Korean shipyards to join the "team"

On May 4, the Hyundai Heavy Industry Union held a dispute resolution committee and decided to conduct a three-day partial strike from May 6 to 10, and a three-day general strike from May 11 to 13. The schedule after the 13th will be decided in the future, and the strike time may continue to be extended.

On May 2, the Federation of Korean Shipbuilding Trade Unions held a press conference at the Press Center of Ulsan City Hall and announced: "In order to save the Korean shipbuilding industry, we will conduct a joint strike struggle with Hyundai Heavy Industries."

The Korea Shipbuilding Trade Union Confederation was established in May 2015. It consists of trade unions of 8 shipyards including Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hyundai Mipo Shipbuilding, Daewoo Shipbuilding, Samsung Heavy Industries, Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, Seongdong Shipbuilding & Marine, STX Shipbuilding & Marine, and HJ Heavy Industries. composition. The union includes almost three major Korean shipbuilding giants and other major Korean shipyards.

In order to protest the employer's rejection of the union's request to resume negotiations on the collective wage agreement in 2021, the Hyundai Heavy Industry Union convened a dispute resolution committee on April 25 and announced a general strike from April 27 to May 4. On April 27, the trade union of Hyundai Heavy Industries organized more than 8,000 members of the company's trade unions to gather on the main road of the Ulsan Shipyard and start a sit-in demonstration. In this regard, the company said tit-for-tat that if a strike is forced, it will completely withdraw the agreement on unsolved issues including the reinstatement of the dismissal, and will also take stern measures against all illegal acts that occur during the strike.

It is understood that after the South Korean shipbuilding industry laid off a large number of workers due to lack of orders in the mid-to-late 2010s, there was a serious shortage of workers. South Korean labor market data shows that the number of workers in the Korean shipbuilding industry has plummeted from about 200,000 in 2014 to about 90,000 in 2021, and due to the difficulty of automating many construction parts of the shipbuilding process, such as assembling internal equipment, This means that the new workforce cannot fully fill the gap.

In addition, most of the Korean shipbuilding companies are concentrated in the southeastern part of South Korea, far from the capital Seoul and close to the northern border. South Korean workers can earn higher wages in high-tech industries such as semiconductors, internet services and video games, while shipbuilding is now a less popular industry in South Korea. Shipyards also have difficulty recruiting young workers due to geographic issues.

The Korean Federation of Shipbuilding Trade Unions pointed out: "When the crisis was triggered by the downturn in the shipbuilding market in previous years, the shipyard management ignored the calls and demands of the labor unions and unilaterally laid off a large number of employees, resulting in the current manpower shortage crisis. Those who remain are also unhappy with the prolonged freeze on base salaries, reduced bonuses and the prospect of layoffs at any time."

It is reported that after the press conference on the same day, the Korea Federation of Shipbuilding Industry Trade Unions immediately held an emergency representative meeting of the eight shipyard trade unions to discuss fundraising for the struggle fund, a joint rally, and a general strike plan.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

The unmanned electric container ship is here!

Deutsche Bahn Schenker, the freight forwarder owned by Deutsche Bahn, plans to operate an all-electric autonomous coastal container feeder line between Norway’s Ikornnes terminal and the port of Alesund.

The unmanned electric container ship is here!
The unmanned electric container ship is here!

DB Schenker and its partners, the furniture giant Ekornes and the ship design company Naval Dynamics, as well as Kongsberg (mainly producing and developing automatic monitoring and control system products in the marine field) and Massterly (the world's first unmanned ship company) , designed to replace the traditional feeder ships used on this stretch of Norwegian coast.

The 50-meter-long vessel features Naval Dynamics' NDS AutoBarge 250 concept and is intended to travel at 7.7 knots for three hours with a range of 43 kilometers. It will operate unmanned under the supervision of Massterly's remote operations center.

Kongsberg's chief executive Geir Håøy said the company was starting to see a general shift away from road freight transport, which has considerable carbon emissions, to clean, energy-efficient short-haul freight transport, which was also involved in Operation of some all-electric and autonomous vessels including Yara Birkeland.

According to DB Schenker, this will bring many benefits, including zero emissions, faster and more efficient transport, and reduced road traffic. The partnership program is approved by the Norwegian Maritime Authority and may receive government incentives for sustainability and technology.

"This unique project will mark an important step towards a greener supply chain and integrate it into our overall sustainability agenda in ocean transport. We are ambitiously working with our partners on this Take a leadership role," said Knut Eriksmoen, CEO of DB Schenker Norway.

"Using autonomous electric container carriers to pick up our stress-free products directly from our terminal in Ikernes means our carbon footprint will be significantly reduced. We will also gain better control over our own logistics and Greater flexibility," added Ekornes CEO Roger Lund.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Knowledge of China’s temporary inbound and outbound goods

Knowledge of China's temporary inbound and outbound goods
Knowledge of China's temporary inbound and outbound goods

What are temporary inbound and outbound goods?

Answer: Temporary inbound and outbound goods refer to goods that temporarily enter and leave my country's customs territory for a specific purpose. Within the time limit specified by the customs, except for the depreciation or wear and tear caused by normal use, they should be re-transported into and out of the country as they are.

What are the temporary inbound and outbound goods?

Answer: According to the "Administrative Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China on Temporary Inbound and Outbound Goods" (Order No. 233 of the General Administration of Customs), temporary inbound and outbound goods include:

1 Goods displayed or used at exhibitions, trade fairs, conferences and similar events.

2. Performance and competition supplies used in cultural and sports exchange activities.

3. Instruments, equipment and supplies used for news reporting or filming of movies and TV programs.

4. Instruments, equipment and supplies used in scientific research, teaching and medical activities.

5. Transportation and special vehicles used in the activities listed in items (1) to (4) of this paragraph.

6 samples.

7 Instruments, equipment and supplies used in charitable activities.

8 Instruments and tools for installation, debugging, testing, and repairing equipment.

9 Packing materials for the goods.

10 Self-driving vehicles for travel and their supplies.

11 Equipment, instruments and supplies used in project construction

12 Test products, equipment, vehicles.

13 Other temporary inbound and outbound goods stipulated by the General Administration of Customs.

Which customs should the temporary inbound and outbound goods be declared to?

Answer: According to the "Administrative Measures of the Customs of the People's Republic of China for Temporary Inbound and Outbound Goods" (Order No. 233 of the General Administration of Customs), the holder of the ATA carnet, the consignee and consignor of the temporary inbound and outbound goods under the non-ATA carnet ( hereinafter referred to as "certificate holder, consignee and consignor") may submit the "Application for Confirmation of Temporary Inbound and Outbound Goods" to the competent customs before the declaration, to apply for verification and confirmation of whether the relevant goods are temporary inbound and outbound goods, and go through relevant procedures , or directly to the competent local customs to go through the relevant procedures for temporary inbound and outbound goods during the declaration process.

How to declare temporary inbound and outbound goods?

A: Enterprises can enter the system through the China International Trade "Single Window" → Cargo Declaration → Import/Export Integrated Declaration Module to enter the system to submit declaration materials. If the competent customs needs to verify or supplement information, they need to submit paper materials. The specific situation is subject to the review by the competent local customs.

How to handle the settlement procedures for temporary inbound and outbound goods?

Answer: The consignee and consignor of temporarily inbound and outbound goods shall go through the settlement procedures with the competent local customs after the goods are re-shipped out of China and re-inbound.

If the temporarily inbound and outbound goods are damaged due to force majeure and cannot be re-exported or re-transported into the country in their original state, the certificate holder, consignee and consignee shall report to the competent customs in a timely manner, and the re-shipment can be handled with the certification materials issued by the relevant departments. Exit and re-entry procedures; if the goods are lost due to force majeure, the goods can be deemed to have been re-exported or re-entered after verification by the competent customs.

If the goods temporarily entering or leaving the country are damaged or lost due to reasons other than force majeure, the certificate holder, consignee and consignor shall go through customs formalities in accordance with the relevant regulations on import and export of goods.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Has the inflection point of the shipping industry reached?

Although Maersk still achieved good results in the first quarter of this year, this was mainly due to a large proportion of long-term contracts with high freight rates. In addition, the company and the Danish Investment Bank said that the inflection point of the container shipping industry may be coming.

Has the inflection point of the shipping industry reached?
Has the inflection point of the shipping industry reached?

Maersk successfully wins more long-term contract customers

For Maersk, although inflation and rising oil prices have led to an increase in unit transportation costs and a downward trend in freight volume, more and more customers choose to sign long-term contracts with higher freight rates, which stabilizes Maersk's current and future 's earnings. Maersk Chief Executive Søren Skou said in a Wednesday press conference: “Our first quarter financial performance was strong, and combined with a negotiated increase in long-term contract prices by an average of $1,400/FFE, our revenue this year is conservatively estimated to be better than $10 billion increase last year.”

He stressed that so far, Maersk has signed long-term contracts with 71% of its customers.

However, the marginal benefit is limited. "Our earnings can go up to another 80%," Skou said. "We also need some cash for revenue flexibility, but I still expect our earnings to continue to go up to 80%."

Very high customer satisfaction

Maersk's first-quarter performance set a new record, but behind it was a 6.7% drop in shipping volumes in the first quarter, a significant increase in shipping costs, and a 71% increase in average freight rates.

The first-quarter financial performance of other liner companies is estimated to be on par with Maersk. It's clear that ocean freight customers still have to pay much more than before to get their goods shipped around the world.

DSF: Historic growth is coming to an end

Another shipping investment bank, Danish Ship Finance (DSF), which is also located in Denmark like Maersk, showed in its latest semi-annual forecast report that there are clear signs that the historical growth period that will promote the development of the container shipping market and generate huge profits is coming. Finish.

The agency said in its latest forecast report that in the short term, the currently murky demand outlook and growth in available capacity could put pressure on container freight rates and used container ship prices. Over the longer term, the market deterioration will accelerate with the influx of ships above 12,000 teu and a weaker demand outlook. This could put significant pressure on most container markets, especially raising the risk that vessels owned by tonnage suppliers will no longer be able to secure contracts. "

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Mason regular ship and overtime ship

As the main mode of transportation in international trade, international shipping accounts for more than two-thirds of the total international trade volume. When it comes to shipping, we have to mention Mason, which is divided into regular ships and overtime ships. What is the difference between them? Next, let's take a brief look at it.

Mason regular ship and overtime ship!
Mason regular ship and overtime ship!

The sailing dates vary:

Mason's regular ships usually sail every Wednesday in Shanghai, and overtime ships usually sail on Thursdays. Generally speaking, they will sail for 11 days. The sailing time at Ningbo Port will be one day earlier, usually every Wednesday.

The efficiency of the cabinet is different:

After unloading the container, Matson's main ship will also load other goods to Hawaii immediately. This part of the route is their own domestic transportation, so Matson will arrange enough manpower on the dedicated terminal to unload and load the ship. The front and the frame of the United States are separated, and the Mason regular ship can ensure that each frame and box are ready to be pulled by the front, so the efficiency of the regular ship cannot be replaced by other ships.

Prices vary:

The timeliness of the main ship of Mason is very fast. If it arrives in the west of the United States, it can be put into the warehouse within 9 working days. Of course, the price will be more expensive than the overtime ship. There are other types of services of Mason, such as time-limited arrival, less than package. Compensation and other prices will also be a bit more expensive than other types of services. Sellers who pursue the timeliness of goods transportation can consider this type of service.

The docks at the unloading port are different:

After the main ship of Matson arrives at the port of destination, it will stop at the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Oakland. According to the official information of Mason Steamship, the pick-up location of Long Beach Port is located in the out-of-port storage yard (STE) 3.5 miles away from the terminal, and the pick-up location of the Oakland port is located at Pier 63 or 0.5 miles away from the terminal. There is no need to make an appointment for each of the lockers and the lockers. Therefore, the general cargo can be picked up the next day after arriving at the port.

Matson overtime ships usually dock at Pier A for unloading. This wharf is a joint venture between Matson Shipping, MSC and Yixing Clipper, which is a public wharf. Therefore, the unloading efficiency of the overtime ship of Mason docked at this terminal is relatively low. When the number of ships at the terminal is large, there is even a queue to wait for the port.

How to quickly distinguish between Mason's regular ships and overtime ships?

Look at the route code. The code of the main ship of Mason is CLX, and the code of the overtime ship is CLX+.

The CLX+ departed from Shanghai on Thursday to the Port of Long Beach on an 11-day voyage, and from Ningbo to the Port of Long Beach on a 13-day voyage.

There is also a peak season overtime express, namely CCX. It takes 12 days for CCX to sail from Shanghai to Oakland Port, and it takes 14 days to sail from Ningbo to Oakland Port. Generally, ships stop at Oakland Port for 2-3 days and leave, and then go directly to Long Beach Public Port, with a 1-day voyage. Because of the stopover in Auckland, the voyage between Shanghai and Long Beach will be 2-3 days longer than CCX and CLX+.

The transportation time between the main ship and the overtime ship will be about 4-6 working days. If there is no great requirement for the transportation time of the goods, you can also choose the overtime ship. Of course, it is better if there are other shipping companies. The shipping channel is also optional.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Supplementary charges for port terminal canals

Everyone also knows that there are many types of shipping surcharges. In order to make up for their own losses in various aspects, the ship party has added a number of surcharges in various names. However, among the marine surcharges, some charges are imposed by the port, terminal, or canal authority. Do you understand this kind of cost? Today, I will use the simplest language to tell you about the surcharges imposed by the port, wharf, and canal authorities.

Notice to sellers: Analysis of these additional costs for port canals

Supplementary charges for port terminal canals
Supplementary charges for port terminal canals

Today, I will use the simplest language to tell you about the surcharges imposed by the port, wharf, and canal authorities. The canal authority adds a surcharge to the ship owner based on each vessel’s net Suez tonnage and the canal rate table, and the owner collects this fee from the customer in the form of the Suez Canal Surcharge.

Everyone also knows that there are many types of shipping surcharges. In order to make up for their own losses in various aspects, the ship party has added a number of surcharges in various names. However, among the marine surcharges, some charges are imposed by the port, terminal, or canal authority. Do you understand this kind of cost? Today, I will use the simplest language to tell you about the surcharges imposed by the port, wharf, and canal authorities.

Notice to sellers: these kinds of additional charges on the port canal

Port Surcharge (PS)

In some ports, due to poor equipment conditions or low loading and unloading efficiency, as well as other reasons, the shipping company charges additional fees. It is generally calculated as a percentage of the freight, but some ports charge it per freight ton. Each freight ton is calculated by the gross weight of the goods or by volume. The difference between it and the port congestion surcharge is that the port surcharge is relatively fixed.

Port Congestion Surcharge (PCS)

Due to the congestion of some unloading ports, the berthing time of ships at the port will increase, which will affect the operating costs of the shipping company. In order to make up for this part of the loss, the surcharge charged by the shipping company to the cargo party is the port congestion surcharge. This part of the fee is directly affected by the degree of port congestion. If the port returns to normal, this part of the fee will be cancelled, but the port congestion surcharge has been charged when the freight is prepaid and will not be refunded.

Terminal Handling Charge (THC)

Terminal operation fee refers to the fee charged by the port, terminal, and loading and unloading company to the carrier to receive the exported container at the loading port yard, store it and transport it to the side of the ship, which includes the container cargo during the terminal period. All loading and unloading, translation, hoisting and hoisting costs and corresponding labor costs. According to the port of departure and the port of destination, the terminal operation fee can be divided into two types: the terminal operation fee at the departure port (OTHC) and the terminal operation fee at the destination port (DTHC).

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

International express should not be ignored

International express is the delivery channel that many foreign trade and cross-border e-commerce sellers will choose, but everyone must pay attention to the following matters when sending international express to avoid unnecessary trouble and loss.

Do not ignore these things when sending international express
Do not ignore these things when sending international express

1. When sending express mail, it should be written in English in detail, accurately and accurately, and the handwriting is clear.

2. The return address should be detailed and accurate, and try to provide a phone number so that you can contact in time when there is a problem with the express delivery.

3. Parcel express does not include cash, dangerous goods and other prohibited items listed in national laws and relevant regulations, as well as items prohibited by the carrier from express delivery. For example, some courier companies do not carry sensitive items such as food and medicines.

4. In order to ensure the smooth customs clearance of delivery, please use English to declare to the customs in detail and truthfully in the corresponding column, the name of the goods, the quantity, the weight, the declared value, and the place of origin, etc. At the same time, any additional item expressions should be completed in English. In triplicate (must have at least one), or may cause delays in customs clearance.

5. International express delivery involves the entry customs tax of the destination country. Different overseas countries have different tax bases and standards. When you send international express, you usually need to fill in the goods list and the value of the goods. The value of this cargo requires you to be familiar with the customs thresholds of different countries. It is very important to carry out reasonable customs declaration according to different countries and the size and weight of the package.

6. Choose a professional international express company, which can not only provide free carton packaging, but also help you strengthen the packaging, free vacuuming, reduce the volume, and reduce the corresponding shipping costs, saving the customer's worry and effort throughout the entire process. Help customers Peace of mind.

7. If the delivery problem is which one of the four major international express delivery or EMS is used, you can choose the first-level agent of the four major international express delivery and EMS, and use the agency price for transportation, the price is low, and there are more choices.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Say something you don’t know about European air freight!

I believe that many cross-border e-commerce sellers engaged in the European market will have the experience of shipping from domestic to foreign countries. Maybe some people are planning to transport their goods by air, but they are hesitant because they do not know enough about European air transportation. . It doesn't matter, now you can get a more comprehensive understanding of European air freight through the following points of cold/hot knowledge.

Say something you don't know about European air freight!
Say something you don't know about European air freight!

First of all, the cost of air transportation is relatively high. There are fixed flight routes from China to Europe, and it takes about 10 days. The longer air transportation time is because the airlines will round up or arrange some bulk cargoes in order to save transportation costs, which will delay some time. This mode of transportation is a little slower than direct express delivery, but the overall timeliness is still faster compared to ocean and rail transportation. If you use the Amazon FBA head-way service, the air express is usually reserved without reservation, which reduces a lot of trouble.

Air transport flights are divided into direct flights and transfer flights. A direct flight refers to a direct flight from the origin station to the destination station without transit. For example, Guangzhou China Southern Airlines flies directly to London. Transfer refers to the need to transfer more than one way from the origin station to the destination station. For example, China Eastern Airlines taking off from Guangzhou needs to fly back to Shanghai for transfer. Diversion flights are generally due to air rights issues to fly back to the local area for transfer or stopover. The difference between the two is that non-stop flights have higher stability, and the stability of connecting flights is relatively lower than that of direct flights, but the price of connecting flights generally has an advantage.

There is also a case of air charter flights, mainly including Liege Airport (LGG) in Belgium and London Thyro Airport (LHR) in the United Kingdom. Generally, this type of flight is a direct flight, so the stability of the flight is high. But at the same time, such flights also have disadvantages. For example, if the inspection is not timely, the flight cannot be boarded, and the flight density is not high, which will delay the shipment until the next week, resulting in problems with the timeliness. On the back end, there will also be delays in the timeliness due to the accumulation of a large number of goods, and at the same time, there may be misclassification of goods and lost pieces after unpacking.

European air freight declaration elements:

For domestic export declaration and foreign import customs clearance, detailed cargo information needs to be provided to the customs broker/clearance bank to declare export/import. The requirements for the declaration elements corresponding to each customs code are different, but in general the following are essential: Product name , Customs code, material, brand, type, ingredient content. We hereby remind all cross-border e-commerce sellers that the declaration elements should be as detailed and clear as possible. Detailed declaration elements will reduce the probability of inspection.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

From May 1st, China’s coal imports will be “zero tariff”?

From May 1st, China's coal imports will be "zero tariff"?
From May 1st, China's coal imports will be "zero tariff"?

In order to strengthen the guarantee of energy supply and promote high-quality development, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council has decided in accordance with procedures that from May 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023, a provisional import tax rate of zero will be imposed on coal.

According to the schedule of the announcement, the provisional import tax rate of zero will be implemented this time for imported coal that originally implemented the most-favored-nation tax rate of 3%, 5% or 6%.

According to Shanghai Securities News, at present, the largest source country of my country's coal imports is Indonesia. According to the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Import and Export Tariff (2021), the currently applicable tax rate is 0.

The most-favored-nation tax rate applies to coal imported from Russia, Mongolia, and Canada from other import source countries, and the tax rate varies according to different coal types. After Australia cut coal exports to China last year, Russia became my country's second-biggest coal importer after Indonesia.

A number of industry insiders said that under the scenario of high international coal prices, the tariff policy will have a limited impact on the import coal market in the short term, and may have a certain impact on the long-term supply.

According to Guosheng Securities, the current FOB price of 4600 kcal thermal coal in Russia is about US$149.8/ton. If the tariff is reduced from 6% to zero, the CIF duty payment cost will be reduced from 1430 yuan/ton to about 1350 yuan/ton. The domestic quotation of 5000 kcal thermal coal is 950-980 yuan / ton, and the price of nearly 400 yuan / ton is still upside down.

China's seaborne coking coal mainly comes from Russia, the United States, and Canada. The current price of coking coal shipped to China plus freight is about US$515/ton. If the tariff is reduced from 3% to zero tariff, the duty-paid cost will be reduced from 3965 yuan/ton to 3855 yuan/ton .

The first-line quotation of coking coal in Jingtang Port in China is 3500-3600 yuan / ton, and the price of 250-350 yuan / ton is still upside down.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that last year, China produced 4.07 billion tons of raw coal and imported 323 million tons of coal, an increase of 6.6% year-on-year. The import volume exceeded 300 million tons for the second consecutive year. The coal import dependence was 7.3%, an increase of 0.05 percentage points year-on-year.

According to Qinhuangdao Coal Network, under the circumstance that coal imports are expected to decrease, the relevant ministries and commissions of the state have organized a mid- and long-term contract to supplement the emergency guarantee for imported coal. The amount of mid- and long-term contracts signed is 158 million tons, accounting for about 49% of the country's coal imports in 2021, and the vacancy of nearly half of the total imports has been guaranteed by the policy.

In order to ensure the stable supply of domestic coal and other energy sources, some provinces in southeastern and southern China have also relaxed customs clearance restrictions on imported coal, and the customs clearance procedures of the new process have been significantly simplified.

The previous Indonesian coal import policy requires that, except for Guangdong, other South China ports need to provide terminal purchase contract endorsement. Now Guangxi has fully liberalized the customs clearance of Indonesian coal imports, and Fujian has partially liberalized. This is conducive to the rapid entry of Indonesian coal, which is intended to encourage traders to import customs clearance.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, coal imports in March 2022 were 16.423 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 39.9%; in the first quarter, coal imports totaled 51.812 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 24.2%.

Zhang Jianhong, a senior engineer at China International Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd., said that the current high price of overseas coal is the main reason for inhibiting the growth of imports. The implementation of a provisional import tax rate of zero for all coal this time will help reduce import costs and expand the import of coal resources. It is the coal import from Mongolia, Russia, Canada and other countries, which can better ensure the supply, guide the downstream coal industry to reduce coal consumption, and promote the transformation, upgrading and high-quality development of the coal industry. However, until the international energy prices fall, it is expected that coal imports will be difficult to increase significantly.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

U.S.-West Port labor negotiations are imminent

U.S.-West Port labor negotiations are imminent
U.S.-West Port labor negotiations are imminent

Labor negotiations are imminent, and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents shipping companies and terminal operators, has released a research report that counts the benefits of port automation, but the trade unions (ILWU, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, American International The Terminals and Warehousing Alliance) argues that productivity gains from port automation have exacerbated employment imbalances.

The study, commissioned by PMA and conducted by UC Berkeley public policy professor Michael Nacht, was released on May 2. According to Michael Nacht and Larry Henry, founder of Container Trac, automation is good for the competitiveness and growth of ports on the U.S. West Coast. At 13 container terminals in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, automation benefits trade, the environment and workers, providing more jobs, the study said.

On the employee side, ILWU workers have increased their paid hours at automated terminals in Los Angeles and Long Beach by 31.5 percent since 2015, the last year of the transition to automated operations, more than double the rate at non-automated terminals, the data shows. ILWU's registered labor force in Los Angeles and Long Beach grew 11.2 percent, compared with 8.4 percent at the other 27 West Coast ports.

In trade, automation has halved container handling time since 2019. Terminals can handle 44 percent more containers per acre than non-automated terminals because automated vehicles and cranes can stack containers higher and denser and transport them more efficiently by trucks and trains. Michael Nacht said: “Higher terminal throughput can provide more port-related jobs and increase employment across the supply chain. If the trend of automation is not kept up, cargo will be diverted to other ports, resulting in terminal and Job losses across the region.” PMA chief executive Jim McKenna said in an interview last month: “The Covid-19 pandemic and the surge in cargo have proven that automated terminals are much more efficient than traditional terminals. As these terminals With a lot of cargo being handled, they actually provide more jobs for dockworkers as well.”

However, these conclusions were not endorsed by the ILWU, and union representative Frank Ponce De Leon responded that the report did not take into account workers who lost their jobs due to the introduction of automated machinery, and that the increase in container throughput at automated terminals was also reflected in the apparent decline in throughput at other terminals. costly and will result in job losses.

The PMA has long campaigned for the introduction of automation in the terminals but has been criticised by the international terminal ILWU. Negotiations between the PMA and the ILWU will take place on May 12 to develop new labor contracts for the 22,000 West Coast dockworkers due July 1.