L Webb
Titanium
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2001
- Location
- Fullerton, CA USA
OK Don, thank you for the new forum.
Yesterday after work, the wife and I took a run down to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. As we passed the rail yards near our shop, we saw they were chock full of containers. On our 20 mile drive to the harbor on the 710 freeway it was posted speed all the way. Abnormal for 5PM midweek. The lack of container trucks was the reason.
When we got to the harbor, the sight of 30-35 ships waiting to load or unload was amazing. I wondered how many of those containers are full of import machine tools. There are lines of doublestack trains waiting, both loaded and empty. Very little is coming out of the harbor except for lumber that is in yards and not handled by the longshoremen.
I must say that I am with the longshoremen on this. The shippers are wrong to close the ports like this. The impact on this nation is great. Estimates are 1 billion dollars a day. This is not exactly helping our lousy economy at this point in time. As the ports become more and more automated, the shippers want to start using casual labor to do some of the work, at a much lower cost. Would the cost savings be passed on to us? Yeah right! The longshoremen do a damn good job. I have dealt with them a whole lot. They may be highly paid and take longer than they should on break and lunch, but they get the job done as safely as possible. Being a longshoreman is the 2nd most dangerous job after mining.Have you ever watched them unload break bulk or loose cargo? Just watch the lashers sometime as they work the container ships cutting the containers loose for the crane to grab them. It's tough work and one wrong move and you're dead.
I guess my point is that the shippers have picked a poor time for this action. I'm sure steel prices will be rising shortly as none is coming off the docks. We don't use import steel, but domestic prices will rise also. Businesses are already talking layoffs due to a lack of parts and supplies. Well, if they had the stuff made here, they wouldn't have this problem!
Now that I think about it, I'm actually hoping some of our customers have tons of washers and other parts stuck at the port. We can take care of any shortages. They won't be as cheap as the imports though. The effects of this lockout will be felt for a long time to come as now all the ship schedules are pushed back. They can't make-up the time lost just sitting.
One other thing that pissed me off was seeing the workers locked out of the container facility that sits on the site of the former Long Beach Naval Shipyard and Naval Station. American workers locked out from the land Clinton wanted to sell to the Chinese.
At least the lobster, swordfish, scallops and shrimp dinner was good at Port's Of Call.
Les
Yesterday after work, the wife and I took a run down to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. As we passed the rail yards near our shop, we saw they were chock full of containers. On our 20 mile drive to the harbor on the 710 freeway it was posted speed all the way. Abnormal for 5PM midweek. The lack of container trucks was the reason.
When we got to the harbor, the sight of 30-35 ships waiting to load or unload was amazing. I wondered how many of those containers are full of import machine tools. There are lines of doublestack trains waiting, both loaded and empty. Very little is coming out of the harbor except for lumber that is in yards and not handled by the longshoremen.
I must say that I am with the longshoremen on this. The shippers are wrong to close the ports like this. The impact on this nation is great. Estimates are 1 billion dollars a day. This is not exactly helping our lousy economy at this point in time. As the ports become more and more automated, the shippers want to start using casual labor to do some of the work, at a much lower cost. Would the cost savings be passed on to us? Yeah right! The longshoremen do a damn good job. I have dealt with them a whole lot. They may be highly paid and take longer than they should on break and lunch, but they get the job done as safely as possible. Being a longshoreman is the 2nd most dangerous job after mining.Have you ever watched them unload break bulk or loose cargo? Just watch the lashers sometime as they work the container ships cutting the containers loose for the crane to grab them. It's tough work and one wrong move and you're dead.
I guess my point is that the shippers have picked a poor time for this action. I'm sure steel prices will be rising shortly as none is coming off the docks. We don't use import steel, but domestic prices will rise also. Businesses are already talking layoffs due to a lack of parts and supplies. Well, if they had the stuff made here, they wouldn't have this problem!
Now that I think about it, I'm actually hoping some of our customers have tons of washers and other parts stuck at the port. We can take care of any shortages. They won't be as cheap as the imports though. The effects of this lockout will be felt for a long time to come as now all the ship schedules are pushed back. They can't make-up the time lost just sitting.
One other thing that pissed me off was seeing the workers locked out of the container facility that sits on the site of the former Long Beach Naval Shipyard and Naval Station. American workers locked out from the land Clinton wanted to sell to the Chinese.
At least the lobster, swordfish, scallops and shrimp dinner was good at Port's Of Call.
Les