Posts tagged Maersk
From Amazon warehouse to port strikes, shippers and the DOT are preparing for an unpredictable 2025
January 2, 2025 // In recent years, the logistics industry has become familiar with "black swan" events, the biggest being Covid, which brought the global supply chain to a halt. The lessons learned during the pandemic led to new digital solutions for companies to track trade and solve for the lack of communication and data sharing that contributed to massive congestion at ports. Those solutions will continue to play a major role in dealing with trade disruptions.
Half a century later, ILA returns to strike mode
September 13, 2024 // The ILA is one of the least aggressive unions when it comes to coastwide strikes, especially relative to its militant West Coast counterpart: the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which orchestrated stoppages and slowdowns just last year to attain its desired contract. In many respects, then, the ILA is riding the wave of labor’s recent successes that were achieved through hard-line tactics. In August 2023, the Teamsters celebrated the ratification of a new agreement with UPS. A few months later, the United Auto Workers secured large pay raises and other benefits for its members after a 46-day strike against Ford, Stellantis and General Motors.
ILA: Threat of Strike at US East and Gulf Coast Ports “Growing More Likely”
July 17, 2024 // The ILA has a firm stance against increased port automation and singled out the auto gate system to highlight its position. They contend that APM introduced the system that makes it possible to process trucks without ILA labor. Further, they allege that they have observed “an increasing number of IT personnel on marine terminals,” with concern that APM Terminals is encroaching on the union’s jurisdiction. They also questioned if the system is being used in other ports. Economists and the made trade organizations for retailers and apparel manufacturing have all warned of the potential impact a strike could have on already fragile supply chains. There have been repeated calls for the Biden administration to step in to bring the two sides to the negotiating table and guide the process. The Department of Labor helped to resolve the 2023 issues with the West Coast ports which had spent a year negotiating their dockworkers contract.
Dockworkers Cancel Bargaining, Threaten Strike at U.S. Seaports
June 11, 2024 // Automation has been a flashpoint for longshore labor talks on both coasts. Daggett has vowed to stem the tide of automated machinery being used to lift, carry and stack containers on docks around the world. In a speech last year he accused the Biden administration of standing by while foreign-owned carriers use the machinery “to eliminate good paying American jobs.” People familiar with the negotiations say most issues specific to local ports have been resolved, but some issues, such as automation, are unresolved.
Councilmember calls for report on driverless cargo handlers at LA port
August 18, 2023 // In 2019, the Board of Harbor Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve a permit for Maersk, a global logistics conglomerate, to introduce driverless electric cargo handlers inside its facility at the port. Part of Maersk’s transport and logistics business unit, APM Terminal’s Pier 400, is one of the largest single proprietary terminals in the world, according to McOsker’s office. The Los Angeles City Council stepped in and voted to deny the permit to begin the process of automating operations at the APM terminal. Shortly afterward, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents dockworkers, and the Pacific Maritime Association — the group representing industry leaders — entered into an agreement with APM to proceed with the program. Under this plan, APM would deploy up to 130 driverless cargo handlers to shuttle containers from the docks to drayage trucks and rail, establish a workforce training program for ILWU members who work at the terminal, and pursue efforts to employ those workers.