Intermodal Briefs: IANA, Port of Los Angeles, J.B. Hunt

From left to right: Silver Kingpin Award Winner Ted Prince; Chairman’s Award Winner Jim Newsome; and Intermodal Achievement Award Winner Congressman Alan Lowenthal.

The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) announces winners of its three industry awards. Also, the Port of Los Angeles sets new June cargo record and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (J.B. Hunt) launches Southern California transload service.

IANA

IANA announced on June 13 that the recipients of its three industry awards are Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of Tiger Cool Express Ted Prince, winner of the Silver Kingpin Award; Executive Advisor to the South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) Jim Newsome, honoree for the 2022 Chairman’s Award; and California’s 47^th District Congressman Alan Lowenthal, winner of the Intermodal Achievement Award.

These recognitions will take place during Intermodal EXPO’s opening general session on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Former IANA Chairman Prince was selected to receive the IANA Silver Kingpin Award, the industry’s most prestigious award, according to IANA, for his career-long contributions to intermodalism. He has more than 40 years of experience in the intermodal transportation business.

Newsome was selected for the 2022 Chairman’s Award in recognition of his dedication to the Association and his “passion for educating the next generation of intermodal leaders,” IANA said. A former IANA board member, Newsome is the recently retired president and CEO of SCPA.

Congressman Lowenthal is this year’s recipient of the Intermodal Achievement Award, “a testament to his consistent support for the freight supply chain throughout his public service career,” said IANA. Congressman Lowenthal has authored, introduced or co-sponsored several major pieces of legislation related to the freight industry and he played a guiding role in the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

“On behalf of the Board, I commend these three individuals for what they have brought to the intermodal industry over many decades,” said Dr. Noel Hacegaba, IANA Chairman and Deputy Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach. “The impact of their contributions will be felt by intermodal stakeholders as well as the general public well beyond their respective careers.”

Port of Los Angeles

The Port of Los Angeles announced on June 13 that it moved 876,611 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in June, edging out last year as the best June in the Port’s 115-year history. At the mid-point of 2022, the Port has handled more than 5.4 million TEUs, matching last year’s record-setting pace.

“Halfway through the year, we’ve been able to reduce the number of vessels waiting to berth by 75%, allowing dock workers to efficiently process more vessels,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. “We’re already beginning to handle back-to-school, fall fashion and year-end holiday goods. Despite inflation and higher-than-usual inventory, we expect cargo volume to remain robust the second half of the year.”

Seroka announced the June numbers at a media briefing, where he was joined by Retired Gen. Stephen R. Lyons, the recently appointed Port and Supply Chain Envoy to the Biden-Harris Administration Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force. Lyons discussed supply chain challenges nationwide and what is being done to improve the movement of goods and help lower costs for American families.

June 2022 loaded imports reached 444,680 TEUs compared to the previous year, a decrease of 5% but 12% higher than the previous five-year June average.

Loaded exports came in at 93,890 TEUs, a 2.3% decrease compared to the same period last year. American exports out of the Port of Los Angeles have declined 39 of the past 44 months.

Empty containers reached 338,041 TEUs, an increase of 8.1% compared to last year.

J.B. Hunt

J.B. Hunt announced on June 13 that it will open its first transload service facility to support international cargo along the West Coast and streamline its inland transportation for customers.

The facility, which will support the Los Angeles and Long Beach area and include a 91,000-square-foot warehouse and eight acres of parking for up to 300 containers, will provide port drayage and transloading services, with quick access to outbound rail and highway transport. The new facility and service, J.B. Hunt says, will complement the company’s recent announcement to help customers accelerate the delivery of overseas freight through a long-term multi-vessel service agreement.

“The increase in import activity over recent years has created a bottleneck at the port, resulting in inefficient delays and rising costs,” said J.B. Hunt Chief Commercial Officer (COO) and Executive Vice President of People and Human Resources Shelley Simpson. “We are providing customers with a complete solution that not only alleviates those challenges, but it can also accelerate their ability to meet domestic demand by offering a seamless port, transload and domestic outbound move.”

To streamline port drayage, J.B. Hunt says it will have a company fleet dedicated to transporting inbound ocean freight from the port to the new facility, minimizing demurrage and per diem costs and accelerating the turn time to prepare freight for domestic transport. Cargo containers will be loaded directly onto company-owned marine chassis and arrive at the J.B. Hunt facility for prompt transloading into domestic trailing equipment supported by its company fleet. “By eliminating the inefficiencies created with handoffs between multiple providers, customers will benefit from J.B. Hunt’s holistic solution,” the company said.

“A transloading model provides customers with a more efficient flow of international containers through the supply chain by eliminating imbalanced moves and turning boxes faster,” said J.B. Hunt President of Intermodal and Executive Vice President Darren Field. “Having optionality between domestic intermodal and interior-point intermodal (IPI) services will be important for our customers when uncertainties remain pervasive.”

The new transloading operation will be located minutes from Interstate 5 and Interstate 710. “With close proximity to both port and rail terminals, the facility will provide shippers with quick, preferred access to J.B. Hunt’s 53’ intermodal container fleet and highway services, including the company’s J.B. Hunt360box® drop-and-hook trailer program,” the company said.

J.B. Hunt opened its first transload service in November 2021 to assist shippers in the New York metro area with port drayage, transloading and inland linehaul solutions. With today’s announcement, J.B. Hunt says it now offers customers a solution for their international containers arriving into the largest port gateway market on both coasts.