JW Hampton

Happy Super Bowl Monday as we get a long pause from Taylor Swift and look forward to pitchers and catchers reporting this week. If you are interested in reading the full 8 pages regarding the "Implementation of Additional Duties on Products of the People's Republic of China Pursuant to the President's February 1, 2025 Executive Order Imposing Duties to Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People's Republic of China" feel free to?click on this link https://lnkd.in/g9yJ8JwM In summary though, there will be an additional 10% duty on top of any already existing duty and additional duty (where applicable) on all products imported into the U.S. that departed China on or after February 1, 2025. To avoid the additional 10% duty, your shipment would need to have departed China before February 1st AND arrive to the U.S. no later than March 6th. #logistics #chinatariffs #importexport

Strike Averted - The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) have reached a tentative agreement that is expected to be approved by members of both organizations thus avoiding a strike. Although the details of the new six-year contract that covers US East coast and Gulf coast ports have not been revealed, it appears they were able to resolve their differences regarding the major issue of automation. #strike #USMX #ILA #logistics

You better watch out, you better not cry.... ...You better not pout, I'm telling you why. After Santa Claus pays a visit and the ball drops, we have an eventful January ahead. The USMX-ILA contract expires on the 15th, followed by the presidential inauguration on the 20th and potentially "Trump tariffs" shortly thereafter. Finally, the Lunar New Year is on January 29th which is why ocean freight rates will be going up on January 1st. We may all want to join the groundhog on February 2nd and just stay in a hole. Since there is nothing definitive yet on the first two January "events" let's focus on spreading some holiday cheer. I am happy to report that a spirited Thanksgiving table discussion regarding an updated logo to celebrate our 160th anniversary was averted as nearly 85% of survey respondents chose the above logo as their favorite. Next is an updated email banner and headshot although if you ask my family and co-workers they suggest an updated head for me. JW Hampton kicked off December at the Queens Chamber Business Persons of the Year Awards Gala and we are confident that our journal ad is what convinced Juan Soto to become a Metropolitan. Now if we could just get George Costanza's eyes on the ad we would be all set. The other thing I would like to get eyes on is?Read Together Books?which is the book company I started when my children were born. The goal is to help strengthen the bond between Dads and their children by writing books about the things we love to do together with our children.?Rooting for our favorite college football team was near the top of my list with going to the zoo a close second and thus the below collection of My Daddy Loves…Football board books and the?I Love Going to the Bronx Zoo?paperback which are available online continues to grow. My thought was that by reading about something and then doing it and then rinsing and repeating would reinforce and grow (I think brainwashing might be too harsh but may be appropriate) a shared love for doing things together and in particular their alma mater/team. Wishing you and your families and friends many blessings this holiday season and throughout the year ahead. Thank you for your friendship and continued business. Mike Shoule #QueensNY #QueensChamber #LGM #ReadTogetherBooks #ConchitaFoods #TrumpTariffs #ILAStrike #SupplyChain #Logistics

Only one way to find out if the below email and link that we sent out to our current clients and prospective future clients is clickable here on LinkedIn for you to cast your vote as well so here goes. As JW Hampton prepares to celebrate our?One Hundred Sixtieth?- yes?160th?- anniversary in 2025 we are looking to freshen up our logo a little. Nothing major as our history is quite important to us and still thriving as a fourth-generation family-run company is nothing to sniff at. That being said, we would welcome your two cents worth and ask that you vote for one of the two updated logos below. The votes will then be counted and presented to the judges for final approval over Thanksgiving dinner...or maybe we should wait until dessert. Please click on this link to vote for one of the two below options https://srvy.pro/2TJVL5N

ILA Strike is Over Please see below statement from ILA website. We will keep you posted as more info becomes available. NORTH BERGEN, NJ – (October 3, 2024)?The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues. Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume. #strike #logistics

Strike Negotiation Progress? Hi friends. According to reports, the US Maritime Alliance (USMX) has offered a wage increase of nearly 50% over the next six years to the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and will triple the contributions that the employer makes to retirement plans. The USMX statement goes on to say "our offer would...strengthen our health care options, and retain the current language around automation and semi-automation." Thus far the ILA has rejected the offer which falls short of their initial 77% pay raise request. The ILA has not posted any update on their website since this morning. We will keep you posted on any developments, although it is getting close to my bedtime. #zzzzzz #logistics #strike

No News is Not Good News Good morning friends. We are not at the eleventh hour yet, but it is rapidly approaching and significant slowdowns at the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports are expected beginning at lunchtime today. Members of the Biden administration met with the head of the US Maritime Alliance (USMX) on Friday. There are conflicting stories on whether or not the president of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) was also invited to meet separately with the administration. Either way, the administration continues to state that they will not invoke the Taft-Hartley Act to force a "cooling off period." If they changed courses to try and prevent a strike, while they could force the union members back to work, they could not really force them to work at a decent pace. There are a lot of numbers being thrown around about how much a strike would cost our economy per day and how long it would take to recover from one day of striking or one week of striking or one month of striking. We are not getting caught up in those numbers. Our primary focus is our clients' shipments and doing whatever it takes to get them delivered. This morning we started receiving congestion surcharge notices from truckers in anticipation of the strike and ensuing backlogs at the terminals. There are delayed openings at the ports of Charleston and Savannah in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. A truck carrying lithium batteries overturned on Thursday near the Port of Los Angeles and caught fire leading to terminal and highway closures. The resulting disruption of service at those terminals will carry into this week, especially as those union workers begin their slowdowns in solidarity with the East Coast and Gulf Coast unions. Lastly, longshore workers at the Port of Montreal have begun a three-day strike this morning. #logistics #strike

Friday's Strike Update No tangible progress to report so just a few bits of news. The United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) based upon the International Longshoremen's Association's (ILA) refusal to return to the negotiating table. This will not unfortunately have any positive impact on the situation. As we prepare for what will be the first East Coast dock workers strike since 1977, CBS News online reported that East Coast and Gulf Coast unionized port workers earn a base wage of $39 per hour after six years on the job excluding overtime and benefits while their West Coast counterparts are at $54.85 per hour after six years. In 2027 that number increases to $60.85. Thus the demand by the ILA for a $5 per hour increase per year for each of the next six years which amounts to a 77% raise. The other sticking point is automation. The ILA of course does not want the movement of containers nor the operation of the cranes or gates to be automated while the USMX realizes they need to cut costs to pay for any wage increases. At this point, the US government said they have no intention of invoking the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act that could help to avert a strike at least temporarily. You can stop reading here unless you have any interest in knowing that President Harry S Truman actually vetoed the act which was introduced by New Jersey Congressman Fred A Hartley Jr and Ohio Senator Robert A Taft, the eldest son of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States. Congress overrode the veto. #logistics #strike

Quick Strike Update As expected, there continues to be no progress in the contract negotiations between the USMX and ILA with both sides pointing their fingers across the hypothetical table. The ILA has stated that they will not extend the contract day-by-day just to keep the ports moving. As a result, some ports have added extended hours these last few days, including Saturday in some cases, in anticipation of not much happening from lunchtime onwards on Monday, September 30th. Another measure that some terminals are taking is to prioritize the movement of reefer containers. In the end, if the vessel doesn't arrive into the terminal and the containers are not discharged from the vessel, then there is nothing that can be done. Along those same lines, once a vessel is at the terminal and the strike happens then the vessels waiting for a spot to open up may need to drop anchor or in some cases could return back to Europe if that is where they originated from. This is a situation in flux and all of us - freight forwarders, steamship lines, truckers, importers, exporters, and US Customs brokers - are all waiting to see how this plays out. In the meantime, we are doing everything we can to get our clients' available containers picked up prior to the strike. #logistics #strike

1, 2, Hopefully No Strikes...at the Old Stall Game In our nearly 160 years of service, this is not the first time JW Hampton and our clients have had to navigate the threats of a potential strike. Starting with the Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886 and the Pullman Strike of 1894 right up until last year's?SAG-AFTRA strike where we nearly ran out of shows to stream, we have been through a lot together. Let's start with the facts. The contract between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) is set to expire on September 30th. Tracing its origins back to 1877 (JWH has them beat by 12 years), the ILA represents over "85,000 longshoremen on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, Great Lakes, major U.S. rivers, Puerto Rico and Eastern Canada, and the Bahamas." The USMX "represents employers of the East and Gulf Coast longshore industry. Membership consists of Container Carriers, including the largest carriers and carrier alliances worldwide, all major Marine Terminal Operators, and Port Associations representing each port on the East and Gulf Coasts." Needless to say, this is Goliath vs Goliath and thus far neither side is willing to budge. The primary points of contention have not changed much over the decades - money and automation. The ILA is seeking a $5/hour increase per year for the next six years (77% total increase) which would be the length of the new contract.?The USMX has countered with half of that amount - $2.50/hour if your calculator or iPhone is not handy =).?The ILA also wants to retain a larger portion of the manual jobs that the USMX is looking to replace with automation. The ILA has made it clear that their membership is prepared for work slowdowns and ultimately a strike. As a result, a?group of 177 trade associations have sent another letter to the Biden administration requesting mediation intervention. This being a presidential election year, we should be hearing a lot of "noise" from both sides of the aisle regarding this issue. This situation is in flux. Currently, it seems like a strike is unavoidable, it is just a matter of how long it will last. The ILA is empowered by the success of recent work stoppage threats (what can brown do for you? - not a lot until they got their raise) and is acutely aware that a prolonged strike at the port could have a significant impact on our economy. While you do have the option to start shipping from Asia via the West Coast rather than the East Coast, we do not recommend that option except in specific circumstances. The West Coast ports have been experiencing delays for the past few months that do not seem to be subsiding. This threat of a strike will only add to those delays. The one thing you can do if you so choose is contact your state politicians and your trade associations explaining to them the importance of getting this resolved before the union goes on strike. #logistics #strike