Major ports around the U.S. are struggling with queues of anchored ships and yards of containers piled as high as local fire departments will allow. Now some of the smaller, regional trade gateways are relishing the opportunity to expand amid all that congestion.
Take the Port of Boston, where the cranes of the Conley Terminal near Southie’s industrial core stand just under the final approach to Logan Airport. The port committed to spending $850 million in recent years to become big-ship ready and better compete with larger rivals. The crown jewels of the expansion: three taller cranes expected to be commissioned in late September.
The additional capacity could hardly have arrived a better time. Many of the larger American ports are handling record amounts of cargo this year as the pandemic boosts consumer spending on merchandise and sends companies scrambling to restock inventories.
But Boston, which bills itself as the only full-service container port serving the six New England states, still hasn’t returned to its pre-pandemic volumes. It has about a 45% share of the region’s market for inbound and outbound freight, a number port officials expect will go well over 50% when all the improvements are finished.
Key to that effort are those new cranes and a deeper harbor — allowing bigger vessels from China.
“We have so many importers and exporters that are already saying, ‘sign me up for more bookings,’” Lauren Gleason, deputy director at the Massachusetts Port Authority, said on a recent tour of the facility. “The demand is really bursting at the seams to bring their cargo through here.”
Dredge It and They Will Come
The Port of Boston is betting upgrades will help revive its cargo volumes
Source: Massachusetts Port Authority
*TEU stands for a 20-foot equivalent unit, a standard measure of container volumes
Boston currently is served by two weekly container services — one by Geneva-based MSC from North Europe, and another linking Asia via the Ocean Alliance, a carrier partnership of Evergreen, Cosco, CMA CGM and OOCL.
“We’re already in deep conversations with the ocean carriers who are making decisions at their headquarters in Asia,” Gleason said. “We know that the allocation is going to increase again and get more bookings through Boston now that we can start to handle the larger ships.”
The cranes will help, but so will the dredging of Boston Harbor to 47 feet, deepening the area around one of the berth’s to 50 feet and expanding the turning basin so vessels capable of carrying 14,000 20-foot containers can navigate safely.
Despite its distance from Asia, Boston is focused on capturing markets there.
“We have very large industries up here of furniture, apparel, retail, as well as the exporters focused on recycled fibers, cardboard – they’re really all focused on Southeast Asia,” Gleason said, adding that the port is also seeing stronger demand from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Latin America.
“We’re not looking to be big like some of the other East Coast gateways, because we don’t have the rail connectivity, but we know that there’s a major market potential to grow exponentially here to service the six New England states,” she said.
—Brendan Murray in South Boston
Charted Territory
Record Haul
Value of exports hits new record despite virus resurgence and disruptions
Source: General Administration of Customs
China’s export growth unexpectedly surged in August as suppliers likely boosted orders ahead of the year-end shopping season, offsetting any port disruptions due to fresh outbreaks of the delta virus. Exports rose 25.6% in dollar terms from a year earlier to a record $294.3 billion, more than $10 billion above any previous month. Imports grew 33.1% to $236 billion, also the highest level ever, leaving a trade surplus of $58.3 billion for the month, the customs administration said Tuesday.
Today’s Must Reads
- Extended deadline | The U.K. extended post-Brexit grace periods for trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as it continues discussions with the European Union to defuse one of the most contentious issues of their divorce. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson faces a supply chain crisis that has seen shelves in supermarkets run empty.
- Fading Germany | Investor confidence in the German economy declined for a fourth month in September after infection rates and global supply disruptions worsened, threatening to disrupt Europe’s strong recovery.
- Bidding up bauxite | Aluminum traded near the highest since 2011 after a military coup in Guinea triggered uncertainty in a key part of the metal’s global supply chain. The coup’s leader said he wants “continuity of production” in mining, and for existing mine agreements to be honored.
- Factory struggles | Vietnam’s expanding role in global supply chains and growth prospects has been disrupted but not derailed by Covid, the head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi said Tuesday.
- Out of stock | Ikea is experiencing product shortages in Ireland as transport issues and the availability of raw materials compound supply problems.
- Faster decoupling | China’s regulatory efforts to increase control over its technology sector adds another “decoupling engine” to the global economy, which could weigh on Chinese growth prospects, the former head of the World Trade Organization said.
On the Bloomberg Terminal
- Vaccine effectiveness | Covid-19 vaccines from China may pose headaches for re-openings of economies around the world, Bloomberg Intelligence reports.
- Made in China | The diversification of supply chains is adding complexity to global electronics manufacturing, but will not spell the end of China's role as a key production hub, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
- Use the AHOY function to track global commodities trade flows.
- Click HERE for automated stories about supply chains.
- See BNEF for BloombergNEF’s analysis of clean energy, advanced transport, digital industry, innovative materials, and commodities.
- Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus and here for maps and charts.
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