
ILWU Contract Talks Update
After Contract talks were abruptly halted on May 23 by the ILWU they were resumed on June 1st. Sources are indicating that terminal automation will be a major contract issue for both sides. Management fears without SoCal terminal automation the Ports of LA/LB will be unable to efficiently handle rising levels of international cargo volumes. ILWU thinking is terminal automation equals fewer ILWU jobs. There is a clear trend that West Coast volumes have gradually shifted to East Coast ports in anticipation of a possible strike. Back in March, twenty Republican Senators wrote to President Biden to ask him to intervene with the parties to prevent additional supply chain disruptions due to a work stoppage
E-Commerce Battle of the Titans: Amazon & Walmart
Walmart will open four new fulfillment centers over the next three years that the company says will let them pack and ship online orders more quickly. The plan comes as Walmart competes with online retail giant Amazon, which has made it easy for customers with Prime memberships to order a wide range of items and have them delivered within a day or so. With more of Walmart’s sales coming from its website in recent years, it already has 31 facilities that prepare online orders. More than 3,500 of its stores, or about 75% of its locations, also fulfill online orders.
What’s In Store for Final Miles in 2022?
The final leg of logistics has been regarded for years as a cost base rather than a revenue driver, but operations might be changing with increased operations analysis. Retailers large and small are leveraging distribution and fulfillment centers to map their inventories directly onto their customers’ locations, enabling carriers like UPS and the Postal Service to offer deliveries in hours rather than days. Some companies are thinking even faster. A bevy of startups including Jokr, Gorillas, and Getir are getting down to the minute, delivering food and groceries in less than a half-hour.
On May 26, 2022, the California State Assembly narrowly passed AB 2840 which would ban warehouse and logistics projects

According to the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence’s 370-member Container Port Performance Index for 2021, a

Wonderful Industrial Park – Thinking Outside-the-Box
This fall, Wonderful Industrial Park, Shafter, California will introduce a first-of-its-kind amenity center to the park. The amenity center will be home to Wonderful Company’s Central Valley corporate campus to provide several resources that benefit tenants and their employees, including a conference center, a manufacturing tech vocational training school, a health and wellness center, and additional retail services.
The number of rail containers at the Port of Los Angeles has jumped 20 percent over the past month — and long-dwelling boxes

Diesel is most expensive in the West Region at $6.423 a gallon, and especially so within California, where it is $6.887 a gallon.
Labor, Maritime Leaders Discuss Expanded Hours at West Coast Ports
Negotiators with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association are discussing a plan to allow all West Coast marine terminals to open an hour earlier, at 6 a.m., under what’s called “a double flex.”
Harbor Trucking Association President Matt Schrap said the double-flex proposal has the support of his organization because it would open port gates to more truck drivers, adding more time to what is considered the most productive time of the day.