Reid / ETC International Freight System
International shipping, Global Logistics Freight Forwarders, Ocean, Air
Below s a recebt update from JOC regarding Sandy containers being diverted.
Sandy-Diverted Containers Costing Shippers a Bundle
Peter T. Leach, Senior Editor | Nov 14, 2012 1:32PM EST
Shippers this week are still struggling to recover import cargo that was bound for the Port of New York and New Jersey at the end of October when Hurricane Sandy forced inbound container ships to unload at other East Coast ports. The diversion is presenting importers with a hefty bill to truck their cargoes back to destinations farther north.
The largest block of diverted cargo was rerouted to Hampton Roads, where Virginia International Terminals handled 5,800 to 6,500 loaded containers and 3,500 automobiles booked for New York-New Jersey. Most of the shipments diverted to Virginia were being moved to New York-New Jersey by rail, barge, or up Interstate 95 by truck.
“We ended up with a couple of dozen boxes down in Norfolk, but we’re still sorting them out,” said Geoffrey Giovanetti, managing director of the Wine and Spirits Shippers Association, which negotiates freight contracts on behalf of its members. He said members were already complaining about the cost of trucking the spirit-filled containers back up to New York or Boston. “What’s particularly tough is the cost to Boston importers, most of whom bring cargo in through New York. It normally costs anywhere from $800 to $1,000 to truck a container from New York to Boston, but now from Norfolk it’s more than double that, so you’re talking about a $2,000 bill.”
Despite efforts to move boxes out of harm’s way, cargo was damaged in import and export containers, including reefers whose contents spoiled by the loss of electric power to keep them cool. The contents of import containers containing shoes and garments that were still sitting at terminals were destroyed, as were export containers loaded with paper.
“We’ve yet to hear whether there was water damage to the cargo in the containers that were stranded in New York and are just now making their way to the consignees,” Giovanetti said. “We’ll know when the claims start coming. It’s up to the insurance adjusters to sort all this out.”
“We’re extremely busy dealing with the backlog of cargo, and it is going to take some time to get completely back to normal,” said Rodney W. Oliver, interim executive director of the Virginia Port Authority. “We are working to move the cargo to its destination by any means available: truck, rail, and barge.”
Logistics Aid Still Needed in Sandy's Wake
William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Nov 13, 2012 2:31PM EST
The list of transportation and logistics services needed in the wake of Hurricane Sandy is long and changing and not likely to get shorter in coming months.
“The long-term needs are just now beginning to be understood,” said Jock Menzies, president of the American Logistics Aid Network. “At first there was so much fog about what was going to be needed. Now we’re moving into the recovery phase.”
There are still thousands of displaced people in New York and New Jersey and many more without powerthroughout the region. Port terminals have reopened, and roads and highways are clear, but communities leveled by the “superstorm” are still a long way from recovery.
Weeks after Sandy, “voluntary organizations are still talking about response efforts, about getting to people they haven’t served yet,” said Kathy Fulton, director of operations at ALAN. “We’re just at the beginning of the recovery phase.”
ALAN, founded after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, connects relief organizations to transportation and logistics companies that donate everything from transportation services to warehouses to experienced logistics personnel. Specific goods and services needed by relief agencies are posted on ALAN’s online portal, accessible through http://www.alanaid.org/.
“We’ve had requests for materials handling equipment including lift trucks and pallet jacks,” Menzies said. “We’re looking for a straight truck with a lift gate right now to do some delivery work in New Jersey with the American Red Cross.”
A quick perusal of ALAN’s portal site shows the variety of goods or services requested by relief agencies, from transportation to buckets, laundry supplies to laptops and even gift cards from big box retailers and home improvement stores.
Warehousing space is likely to become more critical as donated goods — solicited and unsolicited — pour into the Northeast. “There’s been so much unsolicited or undesignated supplies sent to the city already,” said Fulton. “No one has asked for them, no one has said who they are for. From a logistics perspective, that’s a huge challenge. They clog the infrastructure that’s in place. If you have to unload a truck of mystery bags sitting in front of a truck of lifesaving supplies, that’s bad.”
Donating money directly to relief organizations involved in the recovery is a better way to get needed relief supplies to storm victims, Menzies and Fulton said.
