Panama-fighting US West Coast Collaboration's makes moves

IN it first press release with its own letterhead, the US West Coast Collaboration (USWCC) group of western American transport interests has summed up its aims and objectives in a communique that says little else.

Founded at the World Shipping Summit in Qingdao last year in the face of west coast cargo being siphoned off to the east coast via the Panama Canal, the USWCC plans to counter these trends, magnified by the Panama Canal expansion that will double the waterway's capacity in 2015.

Banding together, the container ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Portland, Seattle and Tacoma, as well as the BNSF Railway and the Union Pacific Railroad, delegates met at the recent Transpacific Maritime conference at Long Beach "to further the global gateway".

While many US Gulf and east coast ports have received more Asian cargo via Panama - and even Suez - it is the Port of Savannah made the point that keeping cargo on the water is cheaper, and having it land close to the consumer-rich American eastern seaboard is more convenient than hauling it across the vast and largely empty western states.

Fighting back, USWCC partners have made joint calls on members of Congress, participated in a National Port Summit with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and conducted a joint promotional programme at the Retail Industry Leaders Association's Logistics Conference.

Members are promoting the benefits of the US west coast as the premier region for trans-Pacific trade, by highlighting the west coast's advantages, which include: dozens of fast, frequent vessel services; six deepwater ports with excellent connections to key markets across North America; consistent, reliable inland rail service and capacity; a competitive cost structure; and the lowest overall carbon footprint for goods moving between Asia and markets in the US.

In addition to the panel discussion at the TPM conference, the group held a lunch with support from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association.

The group also is calling for a national goods movement plan to sustain America's role in global trade, create jobs and maximise the advantages of the west coast in moving cargo between Asia and the US.

(Source: www.schednet.com)