Port of Oakland shut down
Recently, the Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT) in California announced that it would close the freight business of the Port of Oakland and suspend operations.
Roberto Bernardo, director of communications for the Port of Oakland, said: “Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT) management has decided to shut down operations due to protests by independent truckers. The port’s other three marine terminals have also effectively closed truck access, with only a few ships currently operating. Operation.”
Truckers participating in strikes at the Port of Oakland say they are prepared to continue the blockade for months if concerns about AB5 are not addressed. Gary Shergill, one of the protest organizers, told the Wall Street Journal that “the strikes could continue for weeks or months.”
AB5 bill intensifies conflicts
The reason for the shutdown at the Port of Oakland was that independent truckers opposed the taking effect of California’s “Gig Economy Act” (AB5), and protesters blocked all terminals at the Port of Oakland. Strikes and protests at the port have continued for three days now.
The full name of the AB5 bill is Assembly Bill No. 5, which is California Assembly Bill No. 5.
The starting point of this bill is to protect the legitimate rights and interests of atypical labor providers (freelancers, independent contractors, etc.) in the gig economy.
The AB5 bill was enacted two years ago. It went through litigation and twists and turns, but in the end the truck industry was not excluded. The U.S. Supreme Court made a final decision on June 30, 2022, and the AB5 bill applies to California’s truck industry.
AB5 makes stricter regulations on the definition of the identity of labor providers, especially for the commonly used independent contractors. If you are a regular employee (employee), the company must provide relevant benefits: unemployment benefits, medical insurance, pensions, etc.
Most truck drivers in California want to remain independent operators and do not want to become an employee driver.
An estimated 70,000 California truck drivers are expected to be subject to the bill. Some truck drivers said that if the AB5 bill is implemented, they will no longer be able to be self-employed and will have to work for others and be controlled by others. Their income will be significantly reduced, which will make it more difficult to make a living.
In addition, this bill also significantly increases the operating costs of trucking companies. For towing companies, if drivers are treated as regular employees, various benefits, insurance, overtime pay and other benefits will increase, leading to an increase in employment costs.
Strikes will worsen congestion at U.S. ports
As the eighth largest port in the United States, the Port of Oakland has more than 2,100 trucks passing through the terminal every day. The port imports a wide range of goods, from wine and meat from Australia to aluminum from South Korea, furniture, clothing and electronics from China.
It is understood that the Port of Auckland was already experiencing congestion before the strike. The large amount of imported cargo and ship operations has caused delays in berthing of ships at the Port of Auckland, with waiting times ranging from 7 to 31 days, and the average time for delivery of import boxes to be 9 days.
There is no word yet on when the protests will end, but they are exacerbating supply chain issues. This has led to reduced productivity at ports, congestion of cargo ships and cargo piling up at docks, increased wait times for containers at terminals, and a spike in inflation.
It is reported that this is the largest truck driver protest so far, exacerbating congestion at the port.
Last week, protests broke out at the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the two largest seaports in the United States. Truckers protesting at the port caused traffic jams and blocked terminal entrances. The combined throughput of the three ports accounts for about half of the nation’s container freight volume.
West America LA/LB Terminal
At present, the situation of the LA/LB terminal in the western United States is not optimistic. Railway waiting times are about 11 days, and congestion in railway transportation has caused import containers to be shipped out of the port more slowly.
In early July, there were approximately 9,000 and 28,000 containers stranded at the Long Beach Port Terminal and the Port of Los Angeles for more than 9 days respectively, while 11,000 and approximately 17,000 containers were respectively waiting to be loaded at the railway terminal.
Trucking containers account for nearly 40% of all long-term detention containers at the port. Due to the accumulation of rail containers, the Port of Los Angeles is currently at 90% land capacity, and any delays in truck pickup will only exacerbate traffic congestion.
East Coast and Gulf Coast ports
In early July, there were 20 container ships waiting for berths in the Gulf of Mexico/New York and New Jersey coasts. According to June statistics, the average waiting time before ships enter the port is 4.5 days, and the detention time of import containers at New York and New Jersey terminals has been delayed to 8-14 days.
At present, the end time of the strike protests is not yet known. However, this wave of truck driver strikes continues to intensify, which will exacerbate the shortage of labor resources in the United States and sweep across the entire U.S. supply chain. It will also affect the timeliness of receiving and shipping goods.
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