drayage truck at nightILWU, PMA Both Call for Federal Mediator – This week, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) also agreed to the Pacific Maritime Association’s (PMA) call to get federal mediators involved in their contract negotiations.  After months without much progress, industry groups are optimistic at this development.  The mediator, or Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, was also involved in the 2002 ILWU-PMA negotiations as well as the East/Gulf Coast longshore contract in 2013.

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LA/Long Beach Brace for Chinese New Year – After months of congestion problems, the Ports of LA and Long Beach are bracing for the rush of cargo that normally proceeds Chinese New Year.  Next month should see the debut of a neutral “gray” chassis pool which allows truckers to pick up and deliver equipment at any terminal regardless of the chassis owner.  This should help deal with the chassis shortage and management problems of late.

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Weekend Gates Help To Relieve Congested Oakland – More than 1,000 containers are moving out of the Port of Oakland every weekend as a result of new gate times geared toward relieving congestion.  While only a small percentage of overall moves, these pickups are helping to alleviate

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