Issue link: https://jocdigital.uberflip.com/i/1488405
Januar y 2, 2023 | Journal of Commerce 51 www.joc.com EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY 2023 ANNUAL REVIEW & OUTLOOK Maritime partnering to promote cleaner, more environmentally friendly operations in our harbors. Through strong partnerships, we are building world- class infrastructure, enhancing freight movement, and facilitating trade relationships that support the growth and strength of our nation's economy. Port Canaveral Capt. John Murray Port Director and CEO portcanaveral.com As the world continues to recover from the global pandemic, shippers have faced varying challenges caused by supply chain shortages and port congestion. The goal of assur - edly moving product from factory to consumer in ways that improve delivery time and costs has driven a shift toward diversification of spe- cialized containerized shipping methods to expedite the movement of goods from point of departure to point of use. Port Canaveral is a major East Coast port with a long history of handling a broad mix of bulk and breakbulk cargoes, including petroleum products, fertilizer, juice concentrate, lumber and building materials, aggregates, and other commodities. Cargo through - put numbers at the port have been steadily increasing year over year, hitting new high volumes of tonnage in the last fiscal year (2022). Consumer demand in Florida and throughout the southeastern US remains strong for primary materials used in roadway and railway building and residential and commercial construction: prod - ucts such as crushed granite, slag, plywood, and lumber, in addition to imported frozen and refrigerated produce and, most recently, canned vegetables. Availability or lack thereof of specialized containers such as reef - ers has prompted the increasing use of multi-purpose ships, including Additionally, this connected- ness has invited new collaboration that is leading to a stronger sup- ply chain of the future. Supply chain stakeholders in Seattle and Tacoma are working together to add needed flexibility and resiliency to their operations with a greater willingness to share data across the transportation system. We've put an emphasis on strategic IT investments to improve supply chain visibility, and our new online appointment system is poised to improve both operational efficiency and local environmental impacts. Looking forward, reducing the carbon footprint of the supply chain will grow as a priority, and the NWSA remains dedicated to invest - ing in sustainability efforts and than the sacrifices made over the years of those who have built the industry. Work-life balance has taken top priority, which I don't see changing. The supply chain needs to adapt to the workforce, because the workforce will have other options in other industries. At the same time, the industry needs to do a better job competing for talent by educating students on supply chain options from a young age as a viable long-term career. A qualified, skilled labor pool will be the key to continued growth in our industry. Northwest Seaport Alliance John Wolfe CEO nwseaportalliance.com After two years of roll- ing supply chain chal- lenges, cargo tides have continued to evolve in 2022. For The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), 2022 has been a year of prioritizing strategic invest - ments and boosting resilience to scale port operations to meet the demands of the shipping industry. High import demand in 2020 and 2021 drove our gateway and partners to expand services, offering off-dock staging facilities and inland rail hubs to support export cargo movement and respond to increased volumes. In 2022, consumer demand waned and congestion at other points of the supply chain caused downstream effects, requiring the need to be nimble to respond to monthly fluc - tuations in cargo volumes. The pandemic exposed the interconnections across the supply chain, which serves as both a vulner- ability and a strength of the system. Challenges surfacing at one point of the supply chain have quickly rippled across the system, yet this has led to an important recognition for the need of a national freight strategy. The attention given to port infrastructure and transportation investments has never been greater. Ocean Network Express (ONE) Takashi Masuda President one-line.com The last two and a half years of work- ing through the pandemic and supply chain challenges have taught us a lot. I believe one of the positives is that the future outlook for the container shipping industry remains strong and the demand for container shipping services will continue to grow. However, in order to meet the challenges of catering to the continued growth, we need to get smarter and more efficient as an industry. When there are limited physical assets or space, the only way to achieve this is through collabora - tion among the stakeholders. This is not something completely innovative, but just getting back to basics and doing things right. As we faced supply chain issues, one observation I made was that we need to look at many of our past practices and revisit them. Some tradi- tional industry practices that influence how we service our customers do not take into account all of the changes we are facing in today's environ- ment — this is applicable throughout the entire supply chain. Therefore, I think it would help if we revisited these practices and tried to improve upon them. The first step would be to identify any misunderstandings amongst parties regarding the execution of mov- ing containers. I am hopeful that the industry can continue to work together to build a stronger North American infrastructure to support future growth demand for the transportation of containers. "Some traditional industry practices that influence how we service our customers do not take into account all of the changes we are facing in today's environment." ◀ "The attention given to port infrastructure and transportation investments has never been greater." John Wolfe ▶ "Availability or lack thereof of specialized containers such as reefers has prompted the increasing use of multi-purpose ships." Capt. John Murray