West to rechallenge GC ports

West Coast ports have experienced a steady loss of the Asian imports market share over the last decade – 9.6% from 2005-16. However, those ports are placing more emphasis on infrastructure development and process improvements to increase efficiency in moving cargo. Those strategies, in the world of mega-carrier alliances, are concentrating cargo volume in fewer gateways. It’s all about the flow, according to Ron Widdows, executive chairman of American Intermodal Management. At those ports in 2015, there were also lengthy long-shore contract negotiations and strikes. Labor disruptions and employer retaliation had convinced retailers and direct importers that they were relying too heavily on West Coast ports. Over the decade, shippers opened a number of import distribution centers along the Gulf and East coasts, and the West Coast’s market share declined. With the expansion of the Panama Canal, Gulf Coast ports of Houston, New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., ports are attracting carriers’ attention in the eastbound Pacific. There are now five weekly services to Gulf ports, which have driven up shares of U.S. imports from Asia 2.3% from 2005-16, according to PIERS, a provider of import and export data. (Source: JOC.com 03/26/17)