Eastern Railroad Discussion > WSJ: U.S. Ports See Costly Delays as Cargo Ships,Volumes Grow

Only one reference to rail involvment with hauling international containers out of port indicating truck must be used to get to the rail yards. Are there no US ports that can move directly from ship to rail at dockside or is it impractical because the way these huge container ships are loaded at their origins?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-ports-see-costly-delays-as-cargo-ships-volumes-grow-1430340113

L.A. and Miami both have dockside rail now. Not sure about others. But even those that do have lots of truck traffic, because there's a big logistics trade near these ports for sorting/aggregating traffic and re-stuffing it into 53-foot domestic containers before furtherance inland by rail.

Miami also has a big sign at its front entrance announcing that it will be "big ship" capable starting this summer.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/15 04:53 by toledopatch.

Several Port Authority of NY NJ facilities have very nearby (< 1/2 mile) access to rail loading. Rail is inside the fence. Howland Hook, Newark, and Elizabeth for example.  The ExpressRail terminal is about a mile away, outside the security perimeter, I believe.

The auto loading facilities at Newark's Doremus avenue are about 3/4 mile from the main ship unloading area. The BMW yard is down by Tropicana, in Bayonne / Jersey City area

toledopatch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Miami also has a big sign at its front entrance
> announcing that it will be "big ship" capable
> starting this summer.

When the bigger, better Panama Canal gets up and running, Florida looks like it's going to be a big player in all of this.  

Port Canaveral, which is not currently served by rail, probably soon will be as there's a proposal to extend the NASA trackage at the Space Center a short distance south into the Port.

See:
http://static.flaports.org/LA_JOC_FloridaPorts_Ad_FullPage_8X10.875_v2_FINAL.jpg

The really big ships will have an enormous draft, and require deep channels. So, work has been underway in places like Jacksonville and Charleston to handle them.  I believe Norfolk is the only east coast port already deep enough to handle the new ships. Miami should have a 50 foot channel by next year if they don't keep running into coral and endangered critters.

NY/NJ, Philly, Charleston, etc still have lots of work to do

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The really big ships will have an enormous draft,
> and require deep channels. So, work has been
> underway in places like Jacksonville and
> Charleston to handle them.  I believe Norfolk is
> the only east coast port already deep enough to
> handle the new ships. Miami should have a 50 foot
> channel by next year if they don't keep running
> into coral and endangered critters.
>
> NY/NJ, Philly, Charleston, etc still have lots of
> work to do

These new ships, and there are many now in service and under construction, carry 18,000 to 21,000 container (20 foot).  The are all used esclusively on the Far East to Northern Europe runs.  The ports also need new cranes to be able to reach across these much wider ships; so it will be a while before they hit the East Coast ports.

Wurli1938 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The really big ships will have an enormous
> draft,
> > and require deep channels. So, work has been
> > underway in places like Jacksonville and
> > Charleston to handle them.  I believe Norfolk
> is
> > the only east coast port already deep enough to
> > handle the new ships. Miami should have a 50
> foot
> > channel by next year if they don't keep running
> > into coral and endangered critters.
> >
> > NY/NJ, Philly, Charleston, etc still have lots
> of
> > work to do
>
> These new ships, and there are many now in service
> and under construction, carry 18,000 to 21,000
> container (20 foot).  The are all used
> esclusively on the Far East to Northern Europe
> runs.  The ports also need new cranes to be able
> to reach across these much wider ships; so it will
> be a while before they hit the East Coast ports.

That's good, because it will be quite a while before the Bayonne Bridge lifting will be complete, or the Philadelphia channels enlarged.  One fear among the port operators (and railroads?) is that some ports will not be on the calling cards of the major lines. And will wither away as traffic goes elsewhere.

toledopatch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> L.A. and Miami both have dockside rail now. Not
> sure about others. But even those that do have
> lots of truck traffic, because there's a big
> logistics trade near these ports for
> sorting/aggregating traffic and re-stuffing it
> into 53-foot domestic containers before
> furtherance inland by rail.
>
> Miami also has a big sign at its front entrance
> announcing that it will be "big ship" capable
> starting this summer.

There's a big logistical problem in Miami, I think.  The FEC has to cross several busy streets at slow speed, right on the north side of downtown.  I'm sure that limits the hours of the day when they can operate.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wurli1938 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Lackawanna484 Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > The really big ships will have an enormous
> > draft,
> > > and require deep channels. So, work has been
> > > underway in places like Jacksonville and
> > > Charleston to handle them.  I believe
> Norfolk
> > is
> > > the only east coast port already deep enough
> to
> > > handle the new ships. Miami should have a 50
> > foot
> > > channel by next year if they don't keep
> running
> > > into coral and endangered critters.
> > >
> > > NY/NJ, Philly, Charleston, etc still have
> lots
> > of
> > > work to do
> >
> > These new ships, and there are many now in
> service
> > and under construction, carry 18,000 to 21,000
> > container (20 foot).  The are all used
> > esclusively on the Far East to Northern Europe
> > runs.  The ports also need new cranes to be
> able
> > to reach across these much wider ships; so it
> will
> > be a while before they hit the East Coast
> ports.
>
> That's good, because it will be quite a while
> before the Bayonne Bridge lifting will be
> complete, or the Philadelphia channels enlarged. 
> One fear among the port operators (and railroads?)
> is that some ports will not be on the calling
> cards of the major lines. And will wither away as
> traffic goes elsewhere.
I believe Corpus Christi, TX has made a big play for these ships.

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
  That's good, because it will be quite a while
> before the Bayonne Bridge lifting will be
> complete, or the Philadelphia channels enlarged. 
> One fear among the port operators (and railroads?)
> is that some ports will not be on the calling
> cards of the major lines. And will wither away as
> traffic goes elsewhere.

Which is why I keep saying that some ports are going to get left out.  The bigger the ship the more inclined the martime company will be to cut the number of port calls on a ship rotation.  The effects of "slow steaming" and the extra time is takes to load and unload these giant ships is having an impact.  The hand writing is on the wall.


Allen

> There's a big logistical problem in Miami, I
> think.  The FEC has to cross several busy streets
> at slow speed, right on the north side of
> downtown.  I'm sure that limits the hours of the
> day when they can operate.
They currently avoid morning and evening rush hour as much as they can.
Rick