Solution Selector: Sea ports and ocean carriers

U.S. seaports continue to organize, train for and fund compliance with security regulations resulting from various homeland security initiatives launched after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. While these efforts haven't had much of a tangible effect on shippers, increasing trade volumes certainly have.

Congestion at ports has increased dramatically in the past year; though some port authorities have started to deal with the problems, the issues are long-term and will require infrastructure upgrades and expansion. Landside efficiency has been affected by idling rules in some ports designed to reduce air pollution, container and chassis shortages and container charges, among other factors.

The rise of offshore sourcing in Asia (specifically China) has made the situation more acute at West Coast ports, but other ports are not free from problems. Longer term, initiatives like the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the expansion of the European Union may add volume to East Coast trade, taxing those ports. (Some Chinese manufacturers are already outsourcing to western Africa.)

Importers and exporters will have to stay on top of developments at key ports as capacity can quickly get out of synch with demand. For many ports the solution to five-year growth projections may come in the form of a seven-year infrastructure project.

Bigger is better in ocean freight, at least from the perspective of ship operators. Shipbuilders' order books are strong for large container ships and the once awe-inspiring 8,000 TEU ship is now almost commonplace.

Ocean carriers gain efficiency on the seas from these large ships, but could face some problems at ports, especially as larger ships are discussed, designed and built.

With many of the ships in the Asian trades running with a substantial cargo of empty containers, using fewer ships to move large volumes of containers can help control costs. To keep containers in the pipeline, ocean carriers have added tough rules and some stiff detention fees for containers that leave the port area. U.S. importers are faced with a decision on whether to "break" the container at the port or pay to move it to and from their inland distribution center.

Third parties — some of them divisions of ocean carriers — are seeing a growing business in "deconsolidation centers" where import shipments are received, unloaded from 40-foot containers, crossdocked and reconsolidated into 53-foot trailers at a 3-to-2 ratio and moved to the destination distribution center.

With offshore manufacturing and sourcing continuing at a strong pace, the situation isn't likely to change much in the near future.

To help determine which ports and which carriers are best suited for your specific shipping needs, Logistics Today offers the exclusive Solution Selector, which matches up the ports and the ocean carriers and their respective capabilities.

All of the information in the accompanying charts, as well as in Solution Selector, was provided by the port authorities and the carriers.

Cleveland Cuyahoga County Port Authority, Maritime	•	•	•	•	•			•	13,000,000	steel, limestone, cement	steel, machinery
Georgia Ports Authority	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	15,310,037	anhydrous ammonia, autombiles, iron & steel	wood pulp, soybeans, machinery
Illinois Int'l Port District, Port of Chicago	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	24,000,000	steel	steel
Kansas City Smart Port	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Lake Charles & Terminal Dist.	•	•	•	•				•	10,419,225	break bulk, petroleum	rice
Massachusetts Port Authority, Maritime Dept.		•		•		•		•		footwear, beer & wine	hides, wastepaper
Mississippi State Port Auth. at Gulfport, Trade Development	•	•	•	•	•	•		•	2,300,000	fruit, general cargo, bulk	paper, frozen, general
Oregon Int'l. Port of Coos Bay	•							•	1,900,000	logs	wood chips, manufactured forest products, logs
Panama City Port Authority	•	•		•	•		•	•	880,000	copper, steel, aggregate, molasses	paper, wood pulp, pipe (steel)
Port of Pensacola	•	•	•	•	•			•	504,000	paper, limestone	bagged goods, energy equipment
Philadelphia Reg'l Port Authority	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	4,000,000	fruit, meat, cocoa beans, steel, paper	project/heavy lift cargoes
Plaquemines Port	•			•					53,579,090	coal, fuel oil	fuel oil, coal
Port Arthur Navigation	•	•	•	•	•	•		•	850,000	metal, forest products	forest products
Port Authority of Guam	•	•	•			•			2,067,000	general cargo, liquid bulk, automobiles, construction	garments, household
Port Canaveral	•	•	•	•				•
Port Freeport	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	25,000,000	bananas, foods	chemicals
Port of Anchorage	•	•	•			•			4,400,000	general cargo	petroleum
Port of Baton Rouge	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Port of Brownsville	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	3,650,690	iron, steel	iron, steel
Port of Houston Authority	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	30,030,305
Port of Hueneme	•		•	•		•		•	1,000,000	fresh produce, automobiles	fresh produce
Port of Longview	•		•	•	•			•	1,600,000	steel	bulks, forest
Port of Los Angeles	•	•	•	•	•			•	147,500,000	furniture, apparel, electronics	sastepaper, synthetic resins, fabric (including raw cotton)
Port of Milwaukee	•	•	•	•	•		•	•	3,000,000	salt, coal, cement	grain, machinery
Port of New Orleans	•	•	•	•	•	•		•	30,000,000	steel, non-ferrous metals, coffee, rubber, forest products	steel, poultry, forest products
Port of Olympia	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•		aluminum, steel, break bulk	roll on/roll off container forest
Port of Ponce	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Port of Portland (OR)	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	11,957,917	automobiles, container, steel	grain, mineral bulks, agricultural products
Port of Redwood City	•				•				1,500,000	cement, sand, gypsum, bauxite	scrap metal
Port of Richmond (CA)	•	•	•		•				18,284,567	automobiles, break bulk	liquid
Port of Richmond Terminal (VA)	•	•		•		•			43,249	tobacco, chemicals, steel, forest products	tobacco products, chemicals, project cargo
Port of Sacramento	•		•	•	•	•		•	800,000	fertilizer, lumber, steel, cement	rice, wheat, mineral ores, project cargo
Port of San Francisco, Maritime	•	•		•	•			•	2,103,299	lumber, steel
Port of Shreveport/Bossier	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	448,324	fertilizer, coal, petroleum
Port of South Louisiana	•	•	•	•		•	•	•	250,000,000	break bulk, grain, petroleum, specialized chemicals	break bulk, grain, petroleum, specialized chemicals
Port of Stockton	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	1,856,000	cement, fertilizer products	sulfur, wheat, bagged rice
Port of Wilmington (DE)	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	4,800,000	petroleum, fruit, juice, meat, automobiles, paper, steel, lumber	paper, automobiles, bulk
St. Bernard Port, Harbor & Terminal Dist.	•			•	•	•	•	•	2,500,000	fertilizer, ferro alloys, aggregates, steel	coke, steel
Tampa Port Authority	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	48,500,000	petroleum, coal, liquid sulfur	fertilizer, phosphate rock, citrus pellets
Toledo-Lucas Cty. Port Authority	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	11,000,000	iron ore	coal

ABF Freight System Inc.	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Air Waves Intl.	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•
Alaska Marine Lines Inc. (Lynden)		•
ALG Worldwide Logistics	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
APL Ltd.		•		•	•	•		•
Atlantic Container Line	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Australia/New Zealand Direct Line, CP Ships	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Averitt Express	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
BAX Global Inc.	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Commodity Logistics	•		•
Crowley Maritime Corp.	•	•	•	•	•
DHL	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Exel Transportation Svcs. Inc.	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
FedEx Express	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
FedEx Trade Networks	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
FMI International	•	•		•	•	•	•	•
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics Inc.	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Hyundai Merchant Marine	•	•		•				•
ICAT Logistics		•		•	•	•	•	•	•
Koch Logistics	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•
Lithogistics Inc.		•		•	•	•	•	•	•
Lynden	•	•		•	•			•	•
Maersk Logistics		•		•	•	•	•	•	•
Megatrux Inc.	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Overseas Orient Container Line		•
Ozburn-Hessey Logistics	•	•
P&O Nedlloyd Logistics	•	•		•	•	•	•	•	•
Pilot Air Freight	•	•
Railinc		•
Roadway Express Inc.				•	•	•	•	•	•
Ruan Transportation Svcs.	•	•
Schneider Logistics	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
The Delco Group Ltd.	•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•
UPS Supply Chain Solutions		•		•	•	•	•	•	•
USXpress	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•
Viking Logistics	•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•