Issue link: https://jocdigital.uberflip.com/i/516072
www.joc.com THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE 61 TOP 100 IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS 2015 By Mark Szakonyi Port of Tacoma works hard to make your job easier. We're committed to your success. Partner with us and you'll get a reliable, efficient team that will help your business grow. You'll love our dedication to customer service. We're ready to work with you for the long haul. Let us make your job easier. Contact: Larry Kvidera, Commercial Group 253-428-8650 www.portoftacoma.com PICK THE TEAM YOU CAN COUNT ON Port Hill Climb U.S. legislation would give Congress a wider view of port congestion, productivity and labor issues THE U.S. CONGRESS has become entwined in the aftermath of the crippling West Coast longshore labor negotiations, with the third- ranking Senate Republican introducing a bill to keep legislators more in the loop on port congestion flare-ups and able to gauge how labor negotiations impact port performance. The legislation, co-introduced by Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, also would require the Bureau of Transportation Sta- tistics to create a port performance statistics program and update Congress annually on t he capacit y a nd performance of key ports. In an effort to determine whether labor negotiations have an impact on port productivity, the bill, introduced in mid-May, would require the Depart- ment of Transportation to report on the state of port performance before and after the expiration of labor contracts. The DOT reports — done in consultation with the Commerce and Labor departments — also would give legislators estimates on the eco- nomic impact and how long it would take for port productivity to be restored. "The recent labor dispute at West Coast ports underscored how a lack of data and transparency to quantify ongoing prob-