The hosts discuss the challenges of port congestion on the West Coast and compare the different terminals. They highlight the significance of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, emphasizing their continued importance. The podcast also touches on the Port of Oakland and its challenges, as well as the separate yet interconnected ports of Seattle and Tacoma. Overall, it provides valuable insights into the logistics industry and the complexities of container ports.
The West Coast ports, including LA Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, and Tacoma, are the major players for imports, with LA Long Beach remaining the dominant hub in the foreseeable future.
Understanding the operating hours and procedures of specific terminals is crucial for efficient container pulling and logistics operations.
Deep dives
Overview of the LA Long Beach Port System
The LA Long Beach port system, officially referred to as the San Pedro Bay Port Complex, consists of two separate but interconnected ports. Combined, these ports cover over 4,600 acres of water, have 10 piers, 80 berths, and 72 cranes. The Port of Long Beach operates seven terminals, while the Port of Los Angeles operates six terminals. Although they are separate entities, they work together and are commonly put together as the LA Long Beach port system. The ports are connected to six inland rail yards that provide access to the Alameda corridor. Currently, there are no congestion issues in LA Long Beach, with both ports operating close to pre-pandemic levels.
Insight into Oakland Port
The Port of Oakland is a significant port that handles about half the volume of LA Long Beach, with a total annual capacity of around 4.9 million containers. It serves as a critical hub for agricultural exports and is responsible for over 2 million imports and 2.3 million exports in TEU volume. There have been some challenges with congestion, truck availability, and equipment and chassis availability in Oakland, similar to LA Long Beach. However, in recent months, congestion has eased with vessels being berthed within 48 hours and containers becoming available shortly thereafter. The only additional fee in Oakland is a gate fee of $35 per container.
Insights on Seattle and Tacoma Ports
Seattle and Tacoma are two separate ports, although many people refer to them collectively as the Seattle Tacoma port. Seattle has four terminals, while Tacoma has six terminals. Seattle handles about 1.2 million containers annually, with a significant volume of distribution and intermodal moves. The ports have experienced congestion during the pandemic, but the situation has improved. They do not operate 24 hours and are primarily daytime operations. There have been equalized trucking rates for precarriages and on-carriages between Seattle and Tacoma. Overall, the West Coast ports, including LA Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, and Tacoma, are the major players for imports, with LA Long Beach remaining the dominant hub in the foreseeable future.
In this episode, the host Max Kantzer is joined by his co-hosts as they discuss the logistics industry and the challenges of port congestion. They take a closer look at container ports on the West Coast and compare and contrast the different terminals.
Some notable quotes from the episode include:
"You always have to remember that there's two entities here, there's the entities of the business side the commercial side who want to see more space, for terminals and port areas for helping commerce in America, and then you see the other side where people say well there's only a finite amount of coastal space left on the United States and that's prime real estate"
"So it's important for the people involved with the pulling of the containers to know, number one, which terminal you're dealing with, what are the operating hours for that specific day, and then obviously you go from there when it comes to the actual hours you can get access to the terminal to pull containers."
"You know, again, look, I just think people need to realize that, you know, the West Coast is going to continue to be probably the majority, always be the big, you know, numbers when it comes to overall imports."
"LA and Long Beach is not going anywhere, man. They're going to be the big boys on the block for the foreseeable future."
The hosts discuss the differences between the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, the challenges of port congestion, and the importance of understanding the operating hours and procedures for each terminal. They also touch on the controversy surrounding the use of coastal space for either commercial or residential purposes.
Overall, this episode provides valuable insights into the world of container ports and the logistics industry.
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