IHSA Shippers Association

Formal contract negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) begin on May 12, 2022. The ILWU represents port workers in California, Oregon and Washington. The PMA represents carriers and terminal operators at West Coast ports. The current ILWU contract is set to expire on June 30, 2022. Shippers have been…

The majority of shippers have finalized their 2022 contract negotiations covering ocean containers shipping from Asia to the United States. The traditional contract period, May 1, 2022 through April 30, 2023, will bring many of the same challenges that have plagued the shipping industry over the last two years. Record high freight rates, insufficient container allocation, and…

Could congestion that plagued West Coast ports in 2021 actually get worse in 2022? That all depends on whether a new contract can be finalized between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). The current contract between the two entities expires on June 30, 2022. If a new contract is not reached, the congestion shippers…

Shippers importing containers from Asia to the US have been faced with record high rate levels and severe congestion leading to supply chain disruptions for the last 18 months. Back in September, industry experts predicted the market would soften after Chinese New Year 2022. Unfortunately, those predictions are not coming true. It now appears evident that the first two…

Shippers were hoping 2022 would bring some much needed relief to the U.S. supply chain. Unfortunately, early economic indicators are showing the current supply chain difficulties will last well into 2022. Some industry analysts are predicting that 2022 could actually be worse than 2021 for some importers. Record consumer demand in the Asia to U.S. market continues to be the…

It is conceivable that spot ocean rates will slowly decline through December 31, 2021. While this is welcome news for shippers, the decline is likely to be short lived. In order to sustain reduction in rates, there needs to be major changes in the Asia to U.S. market. The recent reduction in rates is being attributed to temporary production issues in Asia. Blackouts due to…

One word best describes the US supply chain: BROKEN. There is the sense among supply chain experts that it’s too late for any meaningful solutions to be implemented that will positively impact getting goods delivered to store shelves for the upcoming holiday season. If such solutions existed, they would have already been implemented. Six months ago, it was thought that…

The US supply chain delays have reached critical mass. The delays have reached a point where some shippers haven given up hope that their product will be available for the holiday season. This will be especially devastating to small shippers that rely heavily on holiday sales to survive. Three months ago, the big obstacle was finding space on container ships. While space is…