"We need a long-term labour contract in place to give retailers and the other industries that depend on the ports confidence that cargo will continue flowing. We were disappointed that the LA/Long Beach clerical workers' contract wasn't ratified, but are encouraging the parties to work through their differences without a disruption."
The International Longshoremen's Association (ILWU) and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX) reached tentative agreement on February 1 on a contract that avoided a strike that could have shut down east and Gulf coast ports from Maine to Texas.
But members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) clerical unit voted down a tentative agreement with the Harbour Employers Association that ended an eight-day strike at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in November and December.
The ports followed by Global Port Tracker handled 1.32 million TEU in December, the latest month for which actual numbers are available. That was up 2.8 per cent from November and up eight per cent from December 2011.
January was estimated at 1.34 million TEU, up 4.6 per cent from January 2012. February is forecast at 1.18 million TEU, up 8.5 per cent from last year; March at 1.29 million TEU, up 3.6 per cent; April at 1.36 million TEU, up 4.4 per cent, May at 1.45 million TEU, up 6.2 per cent, and June at 1.45 million TEU, up 4.9 per cent.
The six months of data projections for 2013 should bring the first half of the year to 8.1 million TEU, up 5.3 per cent from the first half of 2012.
"Short to medium-term economic indicators suggest that growth will be sustained, but that there will be no breakout into a boom as consumers remain cautious," Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said.
"The fourth-quarter decrease in GDP should not be taken as a guide for projecting trade. More relevant was the data from the Department of Commerce that showed net disposable income was up," he said.
Global Port Tracker covers Long Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma; New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades and Miami and Houston.
