In the year ending 31 December 2022, PSA Jurong Island Terminal in Singapore accomplished a record-breaking cargo throughput of more than 130,000 TEUs.
This is the terminal's greatest volume since it opened in 2012 and a 30% increase from 2021 volumes.
Another important achievement of PSA Singapore (PSA) and JTC cooperation - a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry in Singapore - was that shipping became greener with container-on-barge services.
The Biden-Harris administration opened applications for the first round of funding for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program.
The multi-billion-dollar program will fund electric vehicle (EV) charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure in communities across the country and along designated highways, interstates, and major roadways.
This program, established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will provide $2.5 billion over five years to a wide range of applicants, including cities, counties, local governments, and tribes. The CFI Discretionary Grant Program builds on the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, for which the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published finalized minimum standards earlier this month.
Japan and Canada are discussing collaboration on building strong supply chains for battery metals, Japan's industry minister, Yasutoshi Nishimura, said on Tuesday.
A public-private mission led by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and including 16 companies that work with batteries visited Canada last week for talks on building sustainable and resilient supply chains, he said.
"Canada has an abundance of battery metals and good market access to the United States," Nishimura told a news conference.
To encourage the reduction of emissions for onshore operations and comply with increasing state regulations, the Port of Oakland, California approved an environmental ordinance requiring operators to develop zero-emission plans. The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners at their meeting on March 9 voted to approve the ordinary requiring tenants that operate cargo handling equipment to create a plan for converting to zero emissions.
“Our goal is to grow the port with operations, equipment, and vehicles fueled by energy that does not emit harmful pollutants into the air,” said Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan. “The port’s environmental ordinance goes above and beyond state regulations and supports our path to zero emissions.”
Cargo moving through the Port of Long Beach slowed in February due to full warehouses, reduced consumer spending, and the closure of east Asian factories during the Lunar New Year holiday.
Dockworkers and terminal operators moved 543,675 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last month, down 31.7% from February 2022, which was the Port’s busiest February on record. Imports declined 34.7% to 254,970 TEUs and exports decreased 5.9% to 110,919 TEUs. Empty containers moving through the Port were down 38.3% to 177,787 TEUs.
“Trade continues to normalize following the record-breaking cargo numbers we saw at the start of last year,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “We are investing in infrastructure projects that will keep us competitive as we collaborate with industry stakeholders to focus on trade volume.”
Port of Savannah in Georgia, US moved approximately 395,000 TEUs in the previous month, marking Georgia Ports Authority's (GPA's) second-busiest February on record following 2022 when it carried 460,400 TEUs.
The port saw its box volumes drop compared with January numbers, when Savannah moved 421,714 TEUs.
"Inflation, increasing interest rates, and high storage supplies are all contributing reasons for the cargo trade downturn," commented a port official.
Boeing [NYSE: BA] today released the 2023 Commercial Aircraft Finance Market Outlook (CAFMO) showing another year of recovery and increased demand from aircraft financiers and investors.
With production and delivery increases and the reopening of certain regional markets, we forecast aircraft financing needs to reach near pre-pandemic levels in 2023," said Rich Hammond, vice president of Customer Finance at Boeing. "This positive trend reaffirms that our industry's fundamentals are strong and aircraft financiers and investors are well positioned as travel continues to recover."
A positive tick-up in trade numbers for January 2023 reported by the U.S. government on Wednesday followed by a forecast for a slow climb back for U.S. retail imports created the first glimmer of hope for a potential recovery for shipping volumes in 2023. Many in the shipping industry ranging from the major carriers in their financial reports to port operators have all said they believe retailers would be key to a resumption of growth in container volumes.
“There are many uncertainties about the economy, but we expect imports to show modest gains over the next several months,” said Jonathan Gold, Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy at the National Retail Federation. The retail trade association said in its monthly Global Ports Tracer that “Growth is a positive sign, but levels are still far below normal and retailers will remain cautious as they work to keep inventories in line with consumer demand.”