Port of LA Functioning 'Close to Normal' Despite Labor Talks, Port Director Says

The Port of Los Angeles has been able to function "close to normal" since June 1 despite issues arising from labor negotiations between dockworkers and terminal operators, Port Executive Director Gene Seroka said at a press conference June 13. "The Port of L.A. terminals are open, trucks are moving, and vessels by and large have been on schedule," Seroka said (see 230609004, 2306050077 and 2303270032).

Seroka explained that talks between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association temporarily stalled on June 1, leading to "spot shortages of workers on our docks and sporadic delays for about a week at some terminals here in L.A." However, for the last six days, there have been minimal disruptions, Seroka said. Meanwhile, the ILWU and the PMA "continue to talk at the table on the remaining points in an ongoing effort to hammer out a deal," Seroka said. The PMA says the ILWU is intentionally directing its members to slow work, while the ILWU says work continues at the ports (see 2306120046).

Seroka added that Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su has been helping with negotiations between the two parties (see 230609004). Seroka said that this is clearly a "top priority" for the Biden administration and that the Port of L.A. needs "both sides to bargain in good faith and find a way to reach an agreement quickly."

"The focus needs to be just moving that next container to the best of our ability and encouraging both sides to stay at the table, bargain in good faith and get to a tentative agreement," he said.

Seroka added that there were 58 ships as of June 12 en route to the Port of L.A., a a jump from 46 ships on May 12 and 47 ships on April 12. "That tells me that we're looking pretty good when it comes to that cadence of calendar events for seasonal products," Seroka said.

He also said the dwell times at the terminal are 3.2 days, which is "down to pre-pandemic levels," Seroka said. The dwell time for on-dock rail times is 4.1 days, which is "solid," Seroka said. What the Port of L.A. was still looking at were off-terminal dwell times, which was at 6.8 days. That means that many importers are still using containers as "mobile warehouses," Seroka said. The port has 9,499 containers waiting to be loaded, with 42,200 containers of imports and 35,047 empties. The number of empty containers are "right about where" the Port of L.A. wants them, Seroka said.

Seroka was also asked about how current slowdowns compare to the peak of the pandemic. At their worst, in October 2021, the Port of L.A. had 97,000 containers on the docks, which is significantly higher than the 42,200 containers at the port now, he said. While cargo is not moving as quickly as the Port of L.A. would like, they are "continuing to move cargo," Seroka said.

He also said the Port of L.A. is running at about 70% capacity, saying that about 15% of the potential cargo has been diverted to the East and the Gulf Coast because importers, exporters, and business associations are "very concerned about any type of disruption." The Port of L.A. has to "go out and earn this cargo and we've got to give that import and export community, the reasons to come back here to Los Angeles," Seroka said.