"Peel Off" Program Speeding Up Cargo Through the Port of Los Angeles
Port of Los Angeles / http://www.portoflosangeles.org/newsroom/2015_releases/news_030915_peel_off_program.asp
New Integrated Strategy Expected to Drive Velocity Gains Across the Southern California Supply Chain
SAN PEDRO, Calif. — March 09, 2015— A new program that expedites cargo by streamlining container moves is speeding up operations at the Port of Los Angeles. Launched February 25, the "Peel Off" Program has added a new operational model to the Port to clear the current backlog of containers and improve the flow of cargo going forward.
"We have found an efficient way to get containers to their destination that is beginning to pay off," said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “We’re acting on our pledge to our customers to harmonize the supply chain and make it work better. Permanently.”
The Port teamed with stevedoring company The Pasha Group, harbor trucking firm Total Transportation Services Inc. (TTSI), several marine container terminal operators and a core group of major retailers to create the program, which involves "peeling off" containers of high-volume customers to a near-dock yard where they are sorted for destination to inland distribution centers.
"The trucks are doing exactly what everyone needs them to do – make more turns every day," said TTSI President and CEO Vic La Rosa. "This single step eliminates multiple inefficient moves so cargo flows faster and more reliably."
"We’ve created something that’s going to work for years to come," said Jeff Burgin, senior vice president of Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals L.P., which is managing the near-dock "Peel Off" yard. "We’re prepared to expand this model throughout the harbor."
Under "Peel Off," import containers loaded with goods belonging to high-volume shippers are stacked together in a block upon arrival at the Port. The terminals expedite TTSI trucks through their gates to retrieve the containers and deliver them to the near-dock yard less than a mile away where they are sorted. The same trucks loop back to the terminals for the next inbound container. The trucks keep boxes moving by delivering outbound containers on the return leg.
The "Peel Off' yard is located at Navy Way and Reeves Avenue on Port property. "While the program is geared for high-volume shippers, all customers benefit," Seroka said. "Increasing terminal productivity has a positive ripple effect for everyone moving cargo through our Port."
The yard is open six days a week from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. Currently, 17 acres are available for staging up to 500 containers. As demand grows, the facility can operate 24/7 and accommodate up to 650 containers.
International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) workers handle all gate and terminal operations at the "Peel Off" yard, including on-site chassis inspection, maintenance and repair.
Cargo owners can move their containers through the "Peel Off" yard in less than 48 hours and make those trips at night during off-peak traffic hours. TTSI has leased 250 chassis to ensure containers are on wheels and ready to roll. The parties are also coordinating their efforts with the new interchangeable chassis pool launched March 1 in the harbor complex.
"Peel Off" also offers clean air benefits by reducing truck trips, gate waits and idling. All trucks calling at the near-dock yard remain subject to the Port’s Clean Truck Program requirements.
Planning for "Peel Off" preceded the recent congestion problems that surfaced at all West Coast ports, but it is already helping to clear the backlog of cargo in Los Angeles. The program is open to all container terminals and may be expanded to other locations in the Port of Los Angeles.
"With bigger ships delivering more cargo in a single call, this program improves the way we all do business," said Seroka. "It is also a prime example of how the Port of Los Angeles is bringing our partners together, facilitating meaningful dialogue and driving real solutions."
Port initiatives include testing web-based technology for increasing truck moves and working with terminal operators on business planning to achieve more productivity gains on the docks.
The Port of Los Angeles is also pursuing new strategies with the Port of Long Beach to achieve greater supply chain efficiencies throughout the region now that the two ports have clearance from the Federal Maritime Commission to coordinate their efforts.
The Port of Los Angeles is America’s premier port and has a strong commitment to developing innovative strategic and sustainable operations that benefit Southern California’s economy and quality of life. As North America's leading seaport in terms by container volume and cargo value, the Port of Los Angeles facilitated $290 billion in trade during 2014. Port operations and commerce facilitate more than 148,000 jobs (about one in 12) in the City of Los Angeles and 531,000 jobs (or one in 16) in the five-county Southern California region. The San Pedro Bay Ports support more than 1 million California jobs and 3.1 million nationwide.
Port Extends Life of Congestion Relief Depot
Port of Long Beach / http://www.polb.com/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=1424&TargetID=1
Temporary off-dock storage on Pier S to speed cargo flow
To help Port of Long Beach terminals quickly work through a backlog of cargo, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has unanimously approved an extra six months of operation for a temporary container storage facility on the harbor district’s undeveloped "Pier S."
The action temporarily extends the life of the existing 30-acre storage depot that opened in December 2014, and also allows for the storage of loaded cargo containers and chassis in addition to the empty containers already permitted there.
Conditions at the Port have changed since the storage depot's opening. A tentative agreement has been reached on the dockworkers' contract, federal regulators granted permission for Long Beach and its neighbor the Port of Los Angeles to collaborate on congestion relief, and private chassis fleets in the region agreed to pool their resources. But terminals are in need of additional space as they try to eliminate a backlog of cargo that built up over months of congestion.
With the initial time period for the container storage depot set to expire March 31, the Port acted to expand the use of the area at Pier S. Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals Inc. will continue to operate the storage depot, and the Port will monitor traffic for any issues.
“I applaud my fellow Commissioners for supporting innovative solutions to congestion and accelerating goods movement in our port complex. With the vision and leadership of Chief Executive Jon Slangerup and his team, we continue to take bold steps to ensure the Port of Long Beach remains the premier seaport in North America,” said Harbor Commission Vice President Rich Dines.
Companies and individuals interested in using the depot must first contact depot operator Pasha at 310-233-2005 or LBECD@psterminals.com.
OTEXA: January 2015 Textile and Apparel Import Report
January 2015 Textile and Apparel Import Report
USITC Will Expedite Five-Year (Sunset) Reviews Concerning Oil Country Tubular Goods from China
US International Trade Commission / http://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2015/er0306ll430.htm
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC or Commission) has voted to expedite its five-year ("sunset") reviews concerning the countervailing and antidumping duty orders on oil country tubular goods from China (Inv. Nos. 701-TA-463 and 731-TA-1159 (Review)).
As a result of these votes, the Commission will conduct expedited reviews to determine whether revocation of these orders would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of material injury within a reasonably foreseeable time.
The Uruguay Round Agreements Act requires the Department of Commerce to revoke an antidumping or countervailing duty order, or terminate a suspension agreement, after five years unless the Department of Commerce and the USITC determine that revoking the order or terminating the suspension agreement would be likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of dumping or subsidies (Commerce) and of material injury (USITC) within a reasonably foreseeable time.
The Commission's notice of institution in five-year reviews requests that interested parties file with the Commission responses that discuss the likely effects of revoking the order under review and provide other pertinent information. Generally within 95 days from institution, the Commission will determine whether the responses it has received reflect an adequate or inadequate level of interest in a full review. If responses to the USITC's notice of institution are adequate, or if other circumstances warrant a full review, the Commission conducts a full review, which includes a public hearing and issuance of questionnaires.
The Commission generally does not hold a hearing or conduct further investigative activities in expedited reviews. Commissioners base their injury determinations in expedited reviews on the facts available, including the Commission's prior injury and review determinations, responses received to its notice of institution, data collected by staff in connection with the reviews, and information provided by the Department of Commerce.
All six Commissioners concluded that the domestic group response for these reviews was adequate and the respondent group response was inadequate and voted for expedited reviews.
A record of the Commission's votes on these matters is available from the Office of the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Requests may be made by telephone by calling 202-205-1802.
The record of the Commission's votes is also posted on the USITC's Internet site at http://pubapps2.usitc.gov/sunset/caseProf/list?sort=caseTitle&order=asc. From this page, search "oil country tubular goods" using the search box in the upper right corner.
The Federal Register notice will indicate whether any further information or statements will be available. Only parties that filed adequate responses and filed timely notices of appearance are eligible to participate further in these reviews. The Commission will issue a report after it completes its reviews.
USITC Institutes Section 337 Investigation of Certain Audio Processing Hardware and Software and Products Containing the Same
U.S. International Trade Commission / http://usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2015/er0312ll433.htm
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has voted to institute an investigation of certain audio processing hardware and software and products containing the same. The products at issue in the investigations are audio codec chips and audio processing software to remove or reduce unwanted audio noise, and products including desktop computers, all-in-one computers, notebooks, laptops, Chromebooks and computer tablets containing such chips and software.
The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Andrea Electronics Corporation of Bohemia, NY, on February 9, 2015. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain audio processing hardware and software and products containing the same that infringe patents asserted by Andrea Electronics. The complainant requests that the USITC issue a limited exclusion order and a cease and desist order.
The USITC has identified the following as respondents in this investigation:
Acer, Inc., of New Taipei City, Taiwan;
Acer America Corp. of San Jose, CA;
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. of Taipei, Taiwan;
ASUS Computer International of Fremont, CA;
Dell Inc. of Round Rock, TX;
Hewlett Packard Co., of Palo Alto, CA;
Lenovo Group Ltd. of Beijing, China;
Lenovo Holding Co., Inc., of Morrisville, NC;
Lenovo (United States) Inc. of Morrisville, NC;
Toshiba Corp. of Tokyo, Japan;
Toshiba America, Inc., of New York, NY;
Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., of Irvine, CA; and
Realtek Semiconductor Corp. of Hsinchu, Taiwan.
By instituting this investigation (337-TA-949), the USITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case. The USITC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the USITC’s administrative law judges (ALJ), who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The ALJ will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337; that initial determination is subject to review by the Commission.
The USITC will make a final determination in the investigation at the earliest practicable time. Within 45 days after institution of the investigation, the USITC will set a target date for completing the investigation. USITC remedial orders in section 337 cases are effective when issued and become final 60 days after issuance unless disapproved for policy reasons by the U.S. Trade Representative within that 60-day period.
Push Against Trafficking of Elephant Ivory Grows
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service / http://www.fws.gov/news/blog/index.cfm/2015/3/10/Push-Against-Illegal-Elephant-Ivory-Grows
The New World Wildlife Day last Tuesday gave people everywhere an opportunity to show that they were serious about wildlife crime by adding their voice to a global social media campaign and tweeting, Instagramming or otherwise sharing a photograph of them holding a World Wildlife Day message with the hashtag #seriousaboutwildlifecrime. Many people (including Service employees) did just that. We have also been hearing some great news in the fight against the trafficking of elephant ivory.
On World Wildlife Day, Kenya burned 15 tons of ivory and said it would destroy the government’s ivory stockpile by the end of this year. “Poachers and their enablers will not have the last word,” Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta said at the event, according to the Associated Press.
Kenya is just the latest country to destroy its ivory since our Ivory Crush in 2013. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its Director, Dan Ashe, thank Kenya for its strong message to the world and its dedication to elephant conservation.
More good news came out of China, a key driver of the illegal ivory trade. The country has instituted a one-year ban on the import of ivory carvings. We are encouraged by China’s willingness to look for solutions to the global crisis of wildlife crime, and we are working together to identify other ways to combat wildlife trafficking.
On World Wildlife Day, we held a live webcast from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife Forensics Laboratory – the first and only full-service wildlife forensics lab in the world – to show how cutting-edge science is helping us fight wildlife crime. A few days earlier, Canada offered an example of how science is winning the battle against traffickers. An auction house and its director pleaded guilty to charges after radiocarbon dating of elephant ivory tusks revealed the tusks weren’t the antiques the company claimed.
On World Wildlife Day, and every day, we are working with our partners to ensure that elephants, rhinos and other imperiled wildlife still have a place in the world. How can you help? Join us in the fight by learning about the dangerous effects of wildlife crime on both wildlife and people. While a majority of illegal wildlife trade happens on a commercial scale, sometimes individuals participate in the trade by unknowingly buying or traveling with illegal items. Be an educated consumer - ask questions before making a purchase and understand the impacts that your purchasing decisions have on animal and plant life around the world.