Despite cargo numbers increasing at both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach last month, a growing focus is being put on global disruptions that are impacting trade, said POLA Executive Director Gene Seroka during his monthly virtual news conference on Monday, March 18.
There are geopolitical and supply chain risks as conflicts play out in the Middle East and a drought continues impacting shipping routes in the Panama Canal. The U.S. presidential election in November is also being closely watched, Seroka said. And, he added, markets are shifting, with more cargo emanating from places like Vietnam.
“There’s a lot of concern,” Seroka said about geopolitical uncertainty.
Appearing with Seroka this month was APM Terminals Executive Leo Huisman, who said acceleration in worker training will be needed as technology advances. Ships, Huisman said, are getting much bigger and, overall, terminals will be required to adapt.
Huisman oversees 14 container terminals in eight countries across North and South America, including APM Terminals Pacific at the Port of Los Angeles.
The new labor contract with West Coast dockworkers, which union members ratified last year, will bring “some cargo” back, Huisman said. There should be indicators by midsummer, he said, on how well and how fast labor negotiations on the East Coast are going.
Near-shoring, Huisman said, is bringing more cargo to hubs now developing in South America and other countries. Near-shoring is a term for moving a company’s production closer to consumers to reduce costs and potential logistical problems.
“But shippers have to make up their own minds,” he added, “and some of them will diversify.”
A Pacific Maritime Association training facility at Pier 400, meanwhile, is scheduled to begin its classes in May, while another workforce training center being developed by both the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is still in the design stage.
“Technology is moving faster than ever,”…
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