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North America Operations Update

Week of September 21, 2015

 

Dear valued OOCL Customer,

 

Dangerous Goods Shipments to South China

 

In the aftermath of the explosion occurring mid-August in the Xingang port area of the city of Tianjin, OOCL is not able to accept dangerous goods/hazardous cargo for discharge at Xingang Port/Tianjin until restrictions are removed by the Xingang Port Authority.  DG shipments to the remainder of China ports are also under certain limited restrictions.  Affected customers are being sent customer advisories to keep them informed of the developments.

 

For further information we recommend our customers refer to the Local News section of our OOCL.com China page located here.

 

West Coast Labor Update – Port of Oakland

 

Vessel Update from Port of Oakland:

A backlog of container ships crowding San Francisco Bay is fading, the Port of Oakland said. The Port reported no vessels at anchor waiting for berths at its five marine terminals.

 

Due to previous congestion, numerous services will be omitting OAK on a short term basis as below:

 

 

 

The cargo availability of local import cargo after vessel berthing is still subject to man-power availability. OOCL export customers with changes in cargo cutoffs are being issued revised booking confirmations.

 

 

East Coast Labor Update – Ontario Truckers

 

A settlement was reached between Container Trucking Association of Ontario (CTAO) drivers and the trucking company owners on Wednesday.  The strike is effectively over.  CN Rail expects that the drivers returning to work will ease congestion in Toronto, however, some backlog is expected due to containers being buried at the rail terminals.

 

 

Vessel/Loop Deployment Changes

 

Terminal First Receiving Date

Information for export cargo container receiving windows as reported by North America terminals continues to be updated daily on OOCL.com.

 

Attached is our current vessel schedule for reference purposes.  For the most up to date scheduling information please do refer to our interactive point to point or vessel schedule on www.oocl.com.

 

 

 

North America Rail Operations

 

BNSF operations generated steady performance this week with good fluidity across the network. Reduced terminal dwell, fewer trains on the system and minimal delays due to maintenance work contributed to a more than 20 percent drop in total trains held, and the lowest weekly level recorded this year.

 

Strong storms with heavy rainfall impacted the Twin Cities to Chicago corridor yesterday, which caused some delays along our busy Aurora Subdivision. More than three inches of rain fell in some locations and temporary speed restrictions were implemented as crews addressed several flooded sections of track.  As we move into next week, and our last days of summer, most of the network will experience very favorable operating conditions with no significant service disruptions due to weather expected.

 

 

Truck Power

 

Truck Power to perform import store door deliveries and export door pickups continues to be a concern as we head into the peak season along the US West Coast, specifically in Oakland and the SEA/TAC-Portland corridor.

  • There is a shortage of trucking companies willing to dray hazardous containers.
  • There are no truck power issues in Canada or Mexico.
  • Please see our Truck Power Map on OOCL.com for more information regarding advance timing required for door movements.

 

 

Pacific Southwest

 

  • No significant congestion or productivity issues reported for the G6 terminals this week.
  • Truck power remains in relatively good order.
  • Chassis supply/imbalance continues across the harbor.  This week TraPac and Pier A were particularly short of chassis.

 

 

Oakland

 

  • OICT was extremely congested this week with long lines of trucks outside the terminal gates.  On Monday, the Customs portal was down adding to the congestion.  Gate turn times averaged 60 minutes.
  • Trapac operations were moderately congested this week.   Gate turn times averaged 38 minutes.
  • Oakland is extremely short of chassis and truck power; new dispatches are not being accepted for 10 days out.  Truck power situation is primarily caused by slow import deliveries, early afternoon restrictions on dual transactions at OICT, and driver waiting time for a bare chassis to become available.

 

 

Tacoma & Seattle

 

  • Tacoma WUT was moderately congested. Gate turn times averaged 27 minutes.  On Monday and Tuesday, vessels operations were delayed due to cranes having mechanical issues.  The terminal posts an announcement on their web site which vessel(s) they will receive export cargo on the following day.
  • Seattle T-18 was moderately congested.  Gate turn times averaged 26 minutes.
  • SEA-TCM is tight on truck power.

 

 

Vancouver

 

  • This week the CN evacuated an average of 3 eastbound import intermodal trains each day from DeltaPort Terminal.  Deltaport and Centerm Terminals are fairly fluid.

 

 

CN Montreal

 

  • CAST Terminal remains fluid.
  • Due to crane construction at Termont Terminal, OOCL services will not resume calling this port until the fall.

 

 

CN Halifax

 

  • Terminal dwell times are short, currently only seven containers for Intermodal delivery are  dwelling beyond two days.

 

 

New York Terminals

 

  • Gate turn times:
  • GCT Bayonne – 106 minutes
  • GCT New York – 20 minutes
  • Maher – 48 minutes
  • Door delivery truck power lead time remains 0-2 days in the NYC metro area.
  • Tioga Marine Terminal in Philadelphia will be closed on Friday, September 25th due to the papal visit.

 

 

Norfolk International Terminal

 

  • NIT (ORF08)’s existing North Gate must close in order to expedite the terminal construction process. A closing date is set for Friday, October 9, 2015. To minimize the impact of that gate closure, the following steps will be taken:
  1. Redirecting ALL North Gate transactions to the South Gate interchange: All cargo and equipment transactions previously utilizing the North Gate (less than 10 percent of daily terminal transactions) will be redirected to the South Gate interchange.
  2. The Norfolk Chassis Yard (NCY) will close on October 9 – all chassis assets moved on-terminal.
  3. The MP-31 lot, currently used for holding and staging damaged containers, will be relocated within NIT.
  • Gate turn time at NIT was 41 minutes.
  • Truck power lead time was 0-2 days in Norfolk.

 

 

USA Midwest & South Central

 

  • Truck power remains adequate throughout the Midwest and Gulf.
  • Chassis are very tight in Chicago and extremely short in Columbus and Indianapolis.
  • HOU’s Barbour’s Cut Terminal reported moderate congestion with gate turn times averaging 36 minutes.

 

 

South Atlantic                         

  • We have seen an increase in heavy and/or overweight export cargo bookings recently.  We remind all parties this is subject to special equipment and permits and may see delays due to limited resources.
  • Truck power for SAR locations remains readily available.

 

 Mexico

 

  • Services at marine terminals in both Veracruz and Altamira were normal last week.
  • Depot, trucking, and rail services were all normal.

 

 

Yours Sincerely,

OOCL North America

 

 

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