Contract negotiations continued this week between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance — or USMX — in an attempt to forge a new, six-year contract before the extension ends Feb. 6.
According to Joseph Bonney, senior editor of the Journal of Commerce, a 20-member ILA committee and a group representing USMX were scheduled to meet in Galloway, N.J., as they try to work out a deal to avert a strike at major container ports on the East and Gulf Coasts.
No details were available on the substance of the negotiations, which are being overseen by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.
On Thursday, FMCS director George H. Cohen issued the following statement:
“The United States Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen’s Association conducted negotiations during the three-day period January 15-17. In these negotiations the parties made progress and have agreed that the negotiations will continue under our auspices.
“Due to the sensitivity of these negotiations, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is an independent U.S. government agency whose mission is to preserve and promote labor-management peace and cooperation
The two sides agreed to a short-term contract extension last month after tentatively agreeing on container royalties, a key issue in the coast-wide master contract. That extension — the second since negotiations began in March — was designed to provide time to work out the remaining issues, including those with local contracts.
The largest and most contentious local contract is between the ILA and the New York Shipping Association, which is seeking changes to work rules and practices in the Port of New York and New Jersey.
In advance of this week’s meetings, the ILA signaled that it intended to remain at the bargaining table longer than it did last week when the union walked out shortly after the start of a scheduled two-day session on New York-New Jersey local issues, Bonney reported.
Both sides have said approval of a coast-wide contract is contingent upon settlement of supplemental local agreements.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
LOGISTICS SNAPSHOT
Following are the latest encouraging statistics from Page Siplon, executive director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics, located in Savannah:
• During the past year, container volume on U.S. railroads represented 87 percent of total intermodal volume, up from 69 percent in 2000 and every Class 1 U.S. railroad recorded increases in intermodal for the year.
• At the end of 2012, about 32 million square feet of warehouse construction was in progress nationwide. Georgia leads all states in this category with 3.4 MSF of new construction underway; nearly twice as much as the 1.8 MSF being constructed in Tennessee, which is No. 2 in the country.
• The U.S. GDP increased 3.1 percent in the third quarter of 2012 according to the final estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
• In November, building permits — an indicator of future housing starts — rose 3.6 percent to an annual rate of 899,000.
SHIPPING SCHEDULE
These are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean Terminals in the next week. Sailing schedules are provided by Georgia Ports Authority and are subject to change.
Terminal Ship name Arrival
GCT KAAN KALKAVAN Today
GCT AL ABDALI Today
OT GRANDE GUINEA Today
GCT MELINA Saturday
GCT PUSAN Saturday
GCT ITAL LIBERA Saturday
GCT BUSAN EXPRESS Saturday
GCT CMA CGM TANCREDI Saturday
GCT YORKTOWN EXPRESS Saturday
GCT MSC ALESSIA Saturday
GCT UASC SHUAIBA Saturday
OT BANSUI Saturday
GCT APL ATLANTA Sunday
GCT APL SPINEL Sunday
GCT HOECHST EXPRESS Sunday
GCT HANJIN CHITTAGONG Monday
GCT NYK DAEDALUS Monday
GCT MADRID EXPRESS Monday
GCT E.R. DENVER Monday
GCT MSC NERISSA Monday
GCT FOLEGANDROS Monday
GCT MSC KYOTO Monday
OT SAUDI DIRIYAH Monday
GCT MSC CHICAGO Tuesday
GCT MOL ENDURANCE Tuesday
GCT HANJIN NAGOYA Tuesday
GCT MAERSK MERLION Tuesday
GCT JAMES RIVER BRIDGE Tuesday
OT ANJELIERSGRACHT Tuesday
OT TITANIA Tuesday
OT TARAGO Tuesday
GCT YM SINGAPORE Wednesday
GCT HYUNDAI GOODWILL Wednesday
GCT HALIFAX EXPRESS Wednesday
GCT ZIM LUANDA Wednesday
GCT DALLAS EXPRESS Wednesday
GCT SEA-LAND RACER Wednesday
GCT FOUMA Wednesday
OT BBC NILE Wednesday
GCT SINGAPORE STAR Thursday
GCT ZIM MEDITERRANEAN Thursday
GCT ISLANDIA Thursday
GCT OOCL OAKLAND Thursday
GCT MAERSK DAVENPORT Thursday
GCT MSC TOKYO Thursday