Maritime jobs in the Puget Sound are threatened by global
trends
By Captain Michael Moore
July 30, 2010
Generations of families in the Puget Sound region have enjoyed prosperity related to international maritime trade. But the advantage is rapidly shifting to other regions and could cost us thousands of jobs.
It's time for our region to get into the game. If shipping routes are realigned, it could be decades before they shift to our favor again.
Some complacency about our status is understandable. Tacoma and Seattle are world-ranked container ports. The economic downturn related to the recession notwithstanding, the maritime trade picture here looks pretty good if one only looks backward. Cargo across West Coast ports has been growing for years and is projected to continue growing.
To read the entire article, click here
John McLaurin's Speech at Women In Logistics Conference
April 29, 2010
California’s budget deficit is $20 billion for this year and getting larger as tax returns for April are coming in about one-third less than estimated. The non-partisan Legislative Analysts Office is projecting budget deficits of over $20 billion each year for the next five years. We are a state that is in the midst of a massive fiscal crisis. As a result, our government is in chaos and broke. Schools are being shut down, our universities and junior colleges are reducing classes and limiting admissions. Roads and bridges are falling apart and in disrepair. All that is missing in California is an occupying force.
But as the Orchard Supply Hardware commercial states – the answers are out there. And the answers are relatively simple - but unfortunately for all of us, California politicians, at all levels of government, lack the political courage to solve our fiscal and management problems. This translates into burdening future generations with additional public debt, reduction in government services, and lost opportunities for businesses. The problems that my generation has created aren’t a function of any political party or interest group. It is actually a failure of leadership – leadership on an individual basis from our public officials who sell out the next generation for the support of an important constituency group. It is a failure to look past the politics of today. As a result, the California that we are creating for our children is one that is far different from the one I was blessed to grow up in. When I was growing up, families built their quality of life with jobs that gave kids who never went to college an equal shot at the American dream. Now, there are very high end jobs for the few and many low end jobs for many, but very few jobs in the middle where my generation found prosperity.
For the entire speech, please click here.
Increased pressure on ports following Panama Canal widening
By Captain Michael Moore
March 20, 2010
Bruce Ramsey hit the nail on the head in his outline of the challenges facing Puget Sound ports that threaten tens of thousands of good-paying jobs here in the international freight-moving industry [“Puget Sound ports need to get ready for Panama Canal widening,” Opinion, March 17].
Washington’s ports not only generate a lot of jobs in the Puget Sound region, they also provide the state’s huge agricultural sector with efficient access to world markets. But much more needs to be done to position Washington to be competitive in the future — especially creating improvements to our trade and transportation infrastructure.
The state can also help by keeping taxes and fees down. State government taxes and fees — especially as shippers climb out of the recession — will be an increasing factor. Taxes and fees no matter how small add up and create a competitive disadvantage for Puget Sound ports. For example, state-imposed expenses for the standby-rescue tug at NeahBay and state-approved higher pilotage fees are raising operating costs for shippers using Puget Sound ports.
State officials can protect jobs — from longshoremen to farmers — by keeping taxes and fees down and by making needed highway and rail improvements.
— Capt. Michael Moore, vice president, Pacific Merchant Shipping, Seattle
John McLaurin's Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference Speech
March 2, 2010
"You are going to have some lively discussions later today on the good, the bad and the ugly with regard to competitiveness of West Coast Ports, the battle over harbor trucking and the impact of environmental regulations. To prepare you for those discussions, I’d like to take you into the belly of the beast and offer some observations of the political challenges facing the West Coast port community – and also the opportunities that exist.
So on to the ugly and a brief political overview.
2010 will be an extremely challenging year, both from a business and political perspective."
Click here to read the entire speech.
The Precarious Gerald Desmond Bridge
By:
John McLaurin, President of Pacific Merchant Shipping Association
George Lujan, President, ILWU Local 13
Peter Peyton, President, ILWU Local 63
Danny Miranda, President, ILWU Local 94
The Gerald Desmond Bridge, as it currently sits, is a hazard to the health and economic wellbeing of the Long Beach community. It’s a bridge so precarious that it wears what is commonly referred to as a “diaper,” a net strung below it to catch dangerously falling concrete, and it must be dealt with before it costs lives or jobs.
Now is the time for Long Beach to replace the Gerald Desmond Bridge. With the help of federal, state and local funds, the Port of Long Beach is proposing to demolish the current bridge and replace it with a new, six-lane, cable-stayed span adjacent to its current site.
Click here to read the entire Op/Ed.
Forcing a Sea Change in Priorities
By John R. McLaurin
January 18, 2010
Now that the new year has begun, the clock is ticking with respect to whether California will be able to maintain its relevancy as an international trade gateway.
In 2014, an expanded Panama Canal will become operational, allowing cargo owners more options and gateways to bypass California ports. While construction of the modified canal moves forward in a timely fashion, California remains mired in both a fiscal and political crisis, unable to provide either the funding or the leadership for the state’s growing infrastructure needs – including maintaining the California ports’ position as the most important entry points for the nation.
Time is short and the competition is growing fierce. In contrast to California’s malaise, new gateways are being expanded or established in various North America ports outside of California, and they are offering low-cost and hassle-free business environments. Governments in Canada and Mexico, and elsewhere in the United States, recognize that the goods movement industry creates jobs, and they are supporting and encouraging port investment because of it.
Click here to read the entire article.
The West Coast Hangover
By Michael Jacob
January 11, 2010
Although we all hope for a strong economic recovery in 2010, it is increasingly clear West Coast ports and the trade industries that depend on them won’t be recovering to their previous peaks anytime soon
What’s behind the grim outlook? Just look at our pre-recession track record
In the Puget Sound, container volume and jobs peaked in 2005. In California, port container volume and jobs peaked in 2006. In 2007, every one of the world’s 50 largest container ports was growing, with two exceptions: the ports of Los Angeles and Oakland. And Savannah passed Oakland to become the fourth-largest container port in the U.S
Click here to read the entire article.
The State of the Port Environment
By T.L. Garrett
Pacific Maritime Magazine Op/Ed
December 2009
For many years now ports have been the target of extensive criticism regarding their environmental impacts. They were generally characterized as the largest and least regulated sources of pollution. In many ways the criticism was accurate, but it was a reflection of the lack of regulatory focus on Port sources. Let’s be honest, it took the International Maritime Organization (IMO) well over a decade to develop the first air quality standards for vessels. Those standards were limited to reflect the emission levels of existing vessels and marine fuels, hardly technology forcing. EPA took even longer to regulate vessels and when they did they adopted the same international standards and then limited them to US flagged vessels.
States, on the other hand, generally took the position that regulating vessels was outside their jurisdiction and relied on federal and international regulation to control those sources. Meanwhile Ports were experiencing incredible levels of growth, a doubling and tripling of “throughput” amidst these modest regulatory developments. Ocean-carriers were responding to that growth by ordering and deploying larger, faster vessels to serve the ever-increasing global demand for goods without any meaningful air quality requirements. In short, something had to give and the stage was set for dramatic changes.
Initially, pushing for change was incredibly difficult because of several factors: The lack of regulations, and more importantly, the lack of available technology to reduce emissions. Reliability, durability, efficiency, and economies of scale were the primary drivers for vessel engine design, not emission control. These goals are not exclusive of each other; indeed the platform, the diesel engine, was already meeting the major objectives by being the most efficient engine available resulting in lower energy consumption compared to any other form of transportation engine. But that is not enough if public health and green house gas goals are to be achieved.
Click here to read the entire article.
Salt pond development a real threat to Redwood City's Port
By Mike Jacob
September 11, 2009
Redwood City is one of a handful of California cities blessed with a seaport — one that is a vital component of the Bay Area's regional and international economy. However, a massive housing development proposed for the salt ponds adjacent to the Port of Redwood City poses a direct threat to the port's operations and its long-term viability.
Locating homes and schools next to the port's heavy-duty industrial activities is simply bad planning; not just because it threatens the operations of one of our regional ports, but also because of the impacts on the future residents and schoolchildren of the city. The homes, schools and recreational facilities needed for 25,000 residents proposed for the salt ponds across Seaport Boulevard from the port are simply not compatible with bulk cargo operations.
Click here to read the entire article.
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