Peter Friedmann, executive director, Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AGTC) praised the decision of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) on November 18th to open an investigation into detention and demurrage and related issues that have exacerbated problems for U.S. agricultural since the Covid-19 outbreak began earlier this year.

Adopting flexibility as a mechanism for reinvention and adaptation as supply chains and the workforce becomes more complicated is a mandate in a post-pandemic era. How can the logistics industry preserve thriving business cultures and also make dramatic changes to work processes? Systems are only as flexible as the people who create them. We propose investing in your existing employees as a key strategy for perpetuating a positive culture, ensuring productivity, and cultivating leaders organically.

Thanks to Covid-19, the hordes of steel executives who descend on New York in June each year from around the world to participate in the Steel Success Strategies (SSS) conference, made a virtual appearance this year instead of “in flesh and blood”. The SSS-2020, which was scheduled to take place in June, was held Oct.26-28 this year in the virtual theater.

Authors James Morgan and James “Jay” Campbell of Opportune LLP examine how a proposed carbon levy is the latest in a wave of change potentially facing the global shipping industry.

Proposed floating wind farms off Northern California’s Humboldt Bay could generate power for the San Francisco Bay Area utilizing an underwater transmission line system extended over 250 miles and costing upwards of $3.1 billion, according to a Humboldt State University report.

In its first-ever virtual State of the Port Address, Executive Director Griff Lynch and Will McKnight, chairman of the GPA Board took the Georgia Ports Authority’s online audience for a long-term view of the Georgia ports expansion plans.

The Port of San Francisco’s recently released Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment (MHRA) warns that the City and Port of San Francisco could face up to $30 billion in damage by 2100 from the combined effects of sea level rise flooding and a major earthquake.

Mario Cordero, executive director, Port of Long Beach told AJOT that the Port experienced a 12.5% increase in container volumes for September, compared to September 2019, and expects the Port to have a “strong” fourth quarter in 2020. But Cordero is more cautious about 2021 stating “a lot depends on the impact of the Covid virus on the economy.”

Imports and exports have rebounded at the Port of Oakland which expects a “strong fourth quarter for 2020.”

On September 25th, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) applauded passage of his amendment to the “Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act” (H.R. 4447) by the U.S House of Representatives. Garamendi’s amendment clarifies that the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, a 1953 law governing offshore mineral and energy development, applies to lease sales for non-fossil fuel energy sources such as wind power, hydrokinetic, or ocean thermal energy conversion.