- Reduced transaction times for harbor truck drivers who can spend more than two hours inside marine terminals picking up cargo;
- Better measurement of terminal operating performance; and
- A new labor-management relationship.
Port of Oakland says no to business as usual
posted by AJOT | Mar 05 2015 at 10:58 AM | Ports & Terminals
Change needed as West Coast recovery begins
Disruptions from waterfront labor negotiations have waned, but don’t expect a return to business as usual at West Coast ports. “The old methods won’t work any longer,” Port of Oakland executive director Chris Lytle said here today.
Addressing shippers and other stakeholders at a meeting of The Waterfront Coalition, Mr. Lytle said his industry must change, “We can’t go back to the way it was; that’s not acceptable,” he told an audience that included federal maritime commission Chairman Mario Cordero. “We have to do a better job for our customers if we want to hold onto our market share.”
Mr. Lytle joined other West Coast port executives in addressing the aftermath of nine months of labor-management disputes on the waterfront. The longshore contract impasse ended February 20 with a tentative settlement of a new contract for ports from Seattle to San Diego.
Ports now are digging out from a cargo backlog that has hampered retailers and other shippers in the US. Mr. Lytle called for a number of improvements to reshape his industry as recovery from the labor dispute gets underway. They include:
“We need a new mindset for negotiating,” Mr. Lytle said. “What we just went through was the worst experience in my professional career. I don’t want to go through that again.”