The PORTS Act (Protecting Orderly and Responsible Transit of Shipments) Is Introduced To Help Prevent Future Incidents in West Coast Ports

The disruption at West Coast Ports has spurred significant action in the shipping community on many levels. Industry experts, ports, unions, lawmakers etc. have each worked to find solutions to prevent future disruptions and to react faster should there be any incidents down the road.

During the last six months, it has become increasingly clear that ensuring the constant and uninterrupted flow of goods through ports is not just critical to shippers and their customers; it is critical to the economy overall.  Disruption at ports translates to overall negative economic impact.

What do the numbers show? According to a report by the NRF, cargo moving through West Coast ports represents an economic value of 12.5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (source:  http://dailycaller.com/2015/06/07/business-groups-applaud-bill-to-prevent-future-port-chaos/#ixzz3cadHexl2). Many estimate that the disruption cost $2.5 billion per day. A number of economists (including the Federal Reserve Board of Governors), “cited the most recent West Coast ports dispute as a primary cause of a 0.7 percent decline in GDP in the first quarter of 2015.”

Now, action has been taken after reports of the decline in GDP due to the West Coast Ports were released. This past Friday, June 5, lawmakers introduced a bill with the purpose to “prevent future incidents at West Coast seaports”. After the issues that occurred nearly 6 months ago with West Coast Ports, this bill is not surprisingly supported by the National Association of Manufactures (NAM) and “a dozen other trade groups”. Senator Cory Gardner is introducing the PORTS Act, which increases powers of state governors to resolve future disputes and disruptions if they occur.  The legislation introduced amends the federal Taft-Hartley Act.

According to a recent article on sdcexec(dot)com, “The supply chain needs predictability to work and should remain free from any man-made disasters—be it delays, disruptions, slowdowns, shutdown or strikes.”

When will “predictability” be possible? Will the PORTS Act expansion of powers be enough to solve these problems?