b'22American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(CHANGEScontinueed from page 16) most important gateways for U.S. agricultural prod- Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd, which had a ripple effect Long Beach because of their strong rail links to Mid- ucts. The Port exported 235,899 TEUs of agri- on the former The Alliance, now being renamed to:west destinations. This has resulted in more inter- cultural commodities as of October 2024, totaling Premier Alliance: A rebranded version of the previ-modal moves by rail but also higher dwell times ofnearly $8.5 billion. Oakland ranks number one byous The Alliance, consisting of ONE, Yang Ming, 8-days or more. TEUvolumeininternationalrefrigerated(reefer)and HMM, but without Hapag-Lloyd.Fortheharbortrucker,theintermodalmovesexport trade among United States ports.Ocean Alliance: This alliance remains unchanged, and on-dock rail moves do not benefit harbor truck- But the Port of Oaklands lack of a first portwith CMA CGM, Evergreen, COSCO, and OOCL ers except indirectly when transloading of contain- of call inbound service continues to be a problemcontinuing their cooperation.ers from 40-foot containers to 53-foot truck trailers.attractingshippers,Arsenaultnoted.Notsurpris-Standalone Carriers: Like MSC, which has offi-Itisoneofthereasonsthatdrayoperatorshaveingly, many of the first calls go to either the Port ofciallypartedwayswithalliances,choosingto become more interested in adding the transloads toLos Angeles or neighboring Long Beach. operate independently but with new strategic part-their business quiver. Although, on the bright side, Oakland continues tonerships on certain trade lanes.The reasons noted above and other issues, Arse- benefit from being the last port of call for exporters toThis reshuffling signals not only a shift in power nault says, US importers and exporters should expectload products, including agricultural products, beforedynamics but also a rethinking of operational strate-a very different ocean freight environment in 2025. ships head to Asia and other export destinations.gies. Each alliance is developing its unique network ArsenaultalsopointedoutthatUSagriculturaldesign,whichwillhavefar-reachingimplications W estc OAstA griculturAle xPOrts exporters are having a tough time right now if they havefor global trade routes.GSC has facilities in the West Coast ports ofbeen shipping out of the Ports of Seattle and TacomaFlexportsaystheGeminialliance:.will Oakland [headquarters for GSC Enterprises] and thebecause of the ILWU strike and lock-out in Vancouverfollowahub-and-spokemodel,whichiswidely Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) consisting ofand Prince Rupert, Canada. The strikes and lockoutsused in many industries, such as airfreight, where the Washington State ports of Seattle and Tacomacaused ships to back up at anchor at the two West Coastmain routes (or main lines) connect large hubs,all ports with substantial agricultural business.Canadian ports and delayed their arrivals at Seattle andandsmallerroutes(shuttles)servesecondary Agricultural shippers give these West Coast ports aTacoma. With the strike and lock-out over, Arsenaultlocations. However, this model is not yet common in different cargo component than most US containersaid, there should be a normalization of sailings intoocean freight One of the major benefits of this shift ports.MostcontainerizedimportsareconsumerSeattle and Tacoma at the end of November and goingis greater resilience and improved reliability. Cur-products that cube out rather than weigh out. Also,into December.The problem for US exporters is thatrently, the shipping market sees schedule reliability there is a large imbalance of imports coming intotheir shipments are now delayed until there is a full nor- rates of 50-60%, and in good seasons, it can reach most US ports versus exports. Essentially, far moremalization of service. 70-80%. With this new model, Gemini is aiming for full containers coming in than going out.a schedule reliability target of 90%, which is signifi-Forthatreason,afirstcallinforaportisc ArrierA lliAncess hiFting in2025 cantly higher than what the market offers today. This desired by the importers moving retail goods. Beyond the trade dynamics is a major change inimprovement could greatly enhance service consis-The Port of Oakland is somewhat the exceptionhow the ocean carrier schedules with major shifts intency and customer satisfaction.to this dynamic. Oakland has consistently been ancarrier alliances. And these shifts will impact ports,Arsenault says the Gemini hub and spoke model important port for agricultural exports (accountingshippers and truckers alike. relies on feeder ship services and double handling for 37%-45% of exports) and has had a more bal- Flexport,thesupplychainandlogisticsplat- of cargoes that is Asia will be routed through ports anced ratio of container imports to exports [1,055,949form,summarizednewchangesinoceancarriersuch as Singapore, Kaohsiung and Hong Kong. This TEU/852,346 full-TEU in 2023], although in recentalliances for 2025: The reshuffling of ocean car- could create problems if those services are disrupted years import volumes have been growing. rier alliances will introduce four major groups in theby weather and other factors and may not result in On November 19 th , the Port of Oakland reportedglobal shipping space, as new partnerships emergeany savings in sailing times. There is also the pos-that its agricultural export business remains robust:and others dissolve: sibility that double-handling could result in higher The Port of Oakland continues to be one of theGemini Cooperation: A new alliance between(CHANGEScontinued page 28)Copyright 2024 Direct ChassisLink. Inc.'