The $11 billion Western sydneyAirport is taking shape from a paddock to a construction site and soon-to-be bustling travel spot.
More than 22 million cubic meters of earth have been moved from the Badgerys Creek site and more than half the concreting is now complete for a terminal that will welcome 10 million passengers a year.
More than 2,300 workers are on-site to build the airport.
More than 22 million cubic meters of earth has been moved from the Badgerys Creek site and more than half the concreting is now complete for a terminal that will welcome 10 million passengers a year. (Nine)
“That will grow up to 4000, so this is a really significant build,” NSW Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said.
“I can’t remember the last time we built an airport from scratch.”
The $11 billion Western Sydney Airport is taking shape from a paddock to a construction site and soon-to-be bustling travel spot. (Nine)
Beneath the entrance to the airport is an enormous basement built to fit the country’s most advanced and automated baggage sorting system.
A computer sends traveler’s bags from check-in directly to the flight beneath all their feet.
Most of our airports were built many years ago, so they have a belt-based system. This a tote-based system, just like you see at Amazon down the road at Kemps Creek,” CEO of Western Sydney Airport Simon Hickey said.
Beneath the entrance to the airport is an enormous basement built to fit the country’s most advanced and automated baggage sorting system. (Nine)
“This is a more modern system that you see in the best airport in the world.”
Every detail of the airport’s design has been poured over by a panel of everyday Australians to make sure it’s fit for purpose.
John and Gillian Jocys from nearly Middleton Grange were among those invited to see the plans and share their thoughts on what the airport should offer.
Every detail of the airport’s design has been poured over by a panel of everyday Australians to make sure it’s fit for purpose. (Nine)
“To see it in life-size format, how awesome, absolutely awesome,” the pair said.
“This will be a place for people to come to, whether they’re traveling or not, it’ll be a destination in its own right,” Hickey said.
Despite the pandemic and this year’s heavy rain impacting construction, the airport is expected to open as scheduled with the first flights taking off in late 2026.
The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to prohibit homeless people from setting up tents within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers, during a raucous meeting where protesters shouted down council members and, at one point, halted the meeting.
The new restrictions, approved by a vote of 11-3, dramatically expand the number of locations where sleeping and camping are off-limits. And they come amid a furious debate about how the city should respond to encampments that have taken hold in many parts of the city.
Audience members repeatedly chanted “shut it down” as Councilmember Joe Buscaino, a longtime proponent of increased enforcement, attempted to speak in favor of the restrictions. Council President Nury Martinez then stopped the meeting for more than an hour so police could clear the room.
After audience members had exited, council members reconvened, discussed the measure and voted.
“I think people were trying this morning to shut this place down and keep us from doing the very job that we were all elected to do,” Martinez said before the vote. “And that, I think, is incredibly disturbing.”
Under the new restrictions, people would be prohibited from sitting, sleeping, lying or storing property within 500 feet of every public and private school, not just the few dozen selected by the council over the past year.
Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who represents South Los Angeles, voted against the restrictions, telling reporters they would move the city toward an “inhumanity that is beneath the citizens of the city.”
Councilmember Mike Bonin, another opponent of the restrictions, said city leaders should devote their energy instead toward improving programs that help homeless Angelenos, such as those that help people with housing vouchers secure an apartment.
“We need to have a relentless, exclusive focus on getting people indoors,” said Bonin, who represents coastal neighborhoods from Los Angeles International Airport north to Pacific Palisades.
A second vote will be required next week. Bonin predicted the changes would result in a roughly tenfold increase in the number of sites subject to enforcement, taking it from more than 200 to about 2,000. The city’s supporting documents on the proposal did not give a clear figure showing how many sites would be covered.
Los Angeles Unified School District officials told The Times that about 750 school sites are within the city limits, a figure that does not include private or parochial schools. Nearly 1,000 commercial daycare businesses are registered with the city’s Office of Finance, although it’s not clear whether all of those locations would be covered by the city’s new law.
Tuesday’s vote came more than two months after Alberto M. Carvalho, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, made a surprise in-person appearance before council members to ask for the new restrictions. Parents and school staff have also spoken out in favor of the changes, saying they have observed erratic or even violent behavior near or on LA Unified campuses.
Martha Alvarez, who oversees government relations for the school district, told the council that LA Unified had found 120 campuses with encampments over the past year.
“These conditions are a public health hazard,” she said. “They are unsafe and traumatic for students, families and staff as they enter school campuses.”
Councilmember Joe Buscaino also spoke in favor, saying he has already been working to open more beds for homeless people across the city, using a variety of strategies.
“I’ve supported Bridge Home shelters. I’ve supported tiny homes, Project Roomkey, Project Homekey, permanent supportive housing,” Buscaino said. “But what I don’t support are drug dens near our schools, parks, or anywhere children congregate.”
Sarah Tindall, middle school, walks with school kids past a homeless encampment near Larchmont Charter School in August 2021.
(Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
The new school year starts Aug. 15.
Foes of the proposal have repeatedly argued the council’s restrictions would effectively outlaw poverty, leading to the deaths of homeless Angelenos. Prohibiting encampments around schools, they said, would simply push people and their belongings a block or two away.
“There are a lot of people who are struggling right now, and we should be helping them,” said Andrew Graebner, appearing before the council.
The new restrictions come as city officials are gradually closing one of the signature programs set up to help homeless Angelenos during the COVID-19 pandemic: Project Roomkey, which turned multi-story hotels into makeshift shelters.
Those facilities allowed the city to bring far more people indoors than they had before, at a time when the congregate shelter system, where many people sleep in a single room, had to operate well below capacity under social distancing guidelines.
The Mayfair Hotel, which provided 252 rooms under the program, recently ended its participation in the program. The LA Grand Hotel in downtown and the Highland Gardens Hotel in Hollywood, which provided a combined 553 rooms, are scheduled to cease operation as Project Roomkey sites at the end of the month, according to Brian Buchner, the city’s homelessness coordinator.
The Airtel Plaza Hotel, which has provided 237 rooms, is set to end its participation in the program on Sept. 30.
Buchner said there are “active discussions” at City Hall and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority about extending the deadline at one or more of those facilities.
Tuesday’s vote represents a shift in the city’s approach on enforcement of its anti-camping law, reducing the amount of discretion wielded by individual council members and establishing a more sweeping policy. That’s a major contrast from last summer, when backers of the law pitched it as a narrow and targeted measure, with enforcement accompanied by offers of services from outreach workers.
Over the past year, permanent metal signs setting deadlines for homeless people to leave have been posted at more than 200 locations, 33 of them schools or daycare centers. At some locations, tents and makeshift shelters have remained weeks or months past the enforcement deadline, as outreach workers struggled to persuade people to move voluntarily.
Although some sites are now clear of tents and encampments, others have had more people living on the sidewalk than they did when outreach workers initially assessed the spots.
City and county officials along with homeless services providers previously told The Times that an insufficient number of outreach workers and a lack of interim housing options have hindered the implementation of the law.
Foes of the council’s homelessness strategy have repeatedly called for the restrictions on sidewalk camping to be repealed. Some of those critics are now leading candidates in the Nov. 8 election.
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Accountant Kenneth Mejia, frontrunner in the race to replace City Controller Ron Galperin, said the new rules would render about one-fifth of the city’s sidewalks off limits to homeless people. I have warned that the restrictions would simply push homeless people to other nearby blocks.
Councilmember Paul Koretz, who trailed Mejia by nearly 20 points last month, voted in favor of the new law.
The council’s new anti-encampment law has quickly become an issue in other contests. Civil rights lawyer Faisal Gill, now running to succeed City Atty. Mike Feuer, has previously promised not to enforce the law, saying it is unconstitutional and will be struck down by the 9th Circuit.
Gill’s opponent, attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, declined to take a position on the measure when contacted by The Times.
“The validity, interpretation and enforceability of the [anti-encampment] ordinance will certainly come before the next LA city attorney,” she said in a statement. “And if I am the city attorney, I would want the opportunity to consult with my clients — LA City Council — before taking a fixed position.”
One citywide contest where there is some agreement on the council’s approach is the race for mayor. US Rep. Karen Bass and real estate developer Rick Caruso, both running for mayor, have both come out in favor of the restrictions on encampments near schools and daycare centers.
Volkswagen has drawn up battle plans to make the new Amarok the must-have ute of 2023.
Based on the new Ford Ranger, the new Amarok represents a significant leap beyond the previous model.
It shares core underpinnings and diesel engines with the Ranger, as well as new safety features including auto emergency braking, active cruise control and blind-spot monitoring.
Volkswagen’s best-selling model is also likely to share the Ford’s 3.0-liter V6 turbo diesel engine, a motor that sends 184kW and 600Nm to all four wheels through a 10-speed automatic transmission.
But it won’t get the 292kW/283Nm petrol V6 exclusively offered in Ford’s Ranger Raptor.
Ford elected not to offer the Australian Ranger with a 2.3-litre turbo petrol engine found in some Amarok models, one that delivers 222kW and 452Nm of performance.
But the cars are not identical.
VW’s machine wears butch styling shaped by a Melbourne-based design team.
It has the same core interior as the Ranger, though high-end Amarok models have fancier 10-way electric seat adjustment than the Ranger’s eight-way chairs.
And Volkswagen’s 12-inch digital dashboard display is larger than the 8-inch readouts fitted as standard to the Ranger.
Top-grade Amarok variants ride on 21-inch wheels that are significantly larger than the 18-inch rims of a Ranger Wildtrak, which could return more car-like precision from a steering wheel shared with VW’s passenger cars.
VW says the new machine, built in South Africa as opposed to the Thailand-sourced Ranger, benefits from shorter and more frequent shipping routes than the older model, which came from Argentina.
That “ensures steadier supply”, according to Volkswagen.
But it will also mean the Amarok is subject to a 5 per cent vehicle import tariff that does not apply to the Thai-built Ranger, a factor likely to make the VW more expensive than its Blue Oval cousin.
VW will reveal prices for the Amarok closer to its official debut in the first quarter of 2023.
Nintendo has confirmed it isn’t planning on bumping up the price of its Nintendo Switch in Japan. The publisher, along with fellow console makers Microsoft and Sony, was recently asked about this possibility by Bloomberg. Nintendo’s response was that it had “no plans” to do so at this time.
Currently, Japan’s yen is falling in value, having dropped 21 percent over the past year. As a result, electronics manufacturers have been slightly increasing the prices of electronics to compensate. For example, Apple products are now 25 percent costlier in Japan compared to in the United States.
As Bloomberg noted, video game consoles are currently $100 cheaper everywhere in the world except Japan. There’s reason for all three major console developers to worry that increasing the price of a console will turn away players and developers to competition.
Last week during its earnings call, Sony financial officer Hiroki Totoki simply said there was “nothing specific” to share about a PS5 price increase, though that question was in relation to the system across the world, rather than simply Japan. Like Sony, Microsoft declined to speak definitively on the possibility of a price increase.
Though console makers seem reluctant to hike up prices, analyst Kazunori Ito pointed out to Bloomberg that at this point, Japanese customers have adjusted to the country’s price inflation for TVs, monitors, and household appliances. “I don’t see them getting upset if game consoles followed suit,” he said.
Right now, the Switch’s most current model—the OLED, which released in 2021—is $349 in North America, and 37,980 yen in Japan, which converts to roughly $290. Scalpers and resellers have jumped on the opportunity, buying consoles at the Japanese price and upselling them when a major console game is close to release.
Both Sony and Microsoft (which made their own earnings call in late July) reported a drop in sales and service usage for their respective systems.
The Newcastle Knights and their coach Adam O’Brien are at a crossroads after a horror season that could see them go from the finals to the wooden spoon in one year.
The Knights have the worst defensive record in the NRL and their attack is not much better with the pressure ramping up on O’Brien to keep his job amid turmoil and player unrest at the club.
Paul Kent believes the recent changes to the club’s football department is evidence that the Knights desperately need to change the way they operate in time for next season.
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“This is a touchstone moment for Adam O’Brien,” Kent said on NRL 360.
“His career now is at a tipping point. After the season they have had where they have shown no improvement on the two previous seasons. In fact they have gone backwards.
“You have got player unrest. You have got a club that is trying to turn things around.
“Phil Gardner has moved himself away from much of the football operation, which he needed to do because he was inexperienced and after putting his toe in the water for 18 months he failed to come up with what they need.
“They have got a rookie football manager in Danny Buderus, who has suddenly been pushed sideways to bring in Peter Parr. They are trying to start the turnaround.
“Adam O’Brien has realized that he is either part of the solution or part of the problem and it starts now.”
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Knights coach Adam O’Brien.Source: Supplied
Phil Rothfield revealed O’Brien admitted he has eight weeks next season to turn things around, but Kent believes that might be generous, given their current predicament.
“Buzz said he has six to eight weeks next year,” Kent said.
“I don’t think he has got that because if the Knights find out eight weeks into next season that they have made a blue, then next season has gone as well.
“Adam O’Brien touched on in that press conference that their summer training was not up to speed this year as it should have been.
“He said, that is the one thing he would like to get in order going into next season. That’s where it starts for them next season. It begins for him now.”
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Klemmer sanctioned for abusing trainer | 02:55
Kent accused the Knights of being too soft on their players in the wake of the decision to reprimand David Klemmer.
“It began it appears today with David Klemmer and let’s talk about player discipline and how players buy into what is going on at teams,” Kent said.
“David Klemmer is known for not wanting to go off the field. Let’s cop that. It happened at Canterbury. It has happened before.
“But we talk about Brandon Smith and what Melbourne have done to him since he got sin-binned and suspended a couple of weeks back and how they drive their discipline, which Adam O’Brien has been aware of.
“I think for too long up there he has been running a soft ship and they basically have been taking the mickey out of him, so I think that is where it starts.”
Is O’Brien under pressure at Knights? | 05:59
The Daily Telegraph’s Dave Riccio agreed O’Brien’s future is on thin ice, given they are unlikely to win another game in 2022, with the wooden spoon a real possibility.
“I think Adam’s coaching career is right on the precipice,” Riccio said.
“Don’t forget this Newcastle Knights side can still get the wooden spoon. They play the Tigers this weekend.
“If they lose to the Tigers you can bet your bottom dollar the heat will be turned up.
“They then play the Broncos away. They play the Raiders at home. The Titans away and they finish with the Sharks at home.
“I haven’t got the Knights winning any of those games.”
Kent believes the introduction of Parr as the club’s director of football means that Phil Gardner will no longer have the final say on O’Brien’s future.
Inside Klemmer’s failed move to the Eels | 02:08
“Gardner has no longer got the say,” Kent said.
“Parr will have the say. Parr will sit there over summer and if he decides things aren’t looking the way they need to look, he can still find himself a coach.
“He has got trainers and strength and conditioning coaches in from the Roosters and the Panthers and everywhere else. They are in good hands there.”
Riccio agreed the board will decide who the long-term coach will be based on a recommendation from Parr.
“I think it will come down to the board,” Riccio said.
“I think Peter Parr has been put there for a reason. Not only for his experience and know how, but I believe he can make a tough call.
“And Gardner can remove himself from what has been a car crash since he got there.”
In light of O’Brien’s comments that he has seen what success looks like at the Storm and the Roosters, Kent believes it is time for less talk and more action at the Knights.
“At some point you have got to start living the standard and not talking the standard,” Kent said.
“I think for too long at Newcastle they talk about what they want to do.
“It has been going on for too long where they just basically pull the shades down over everybody’s eyes and say, don’t worry about us we are going OK, when in fact they are not doing what Newcastle are known for, which is playing tough, hard football and being constantly competitive.”
Police are appealing for information into the assassination of a Turkish diplomat and his bodyguard in Sydney more than four decades ago, releasing audio of a claim of responsibility.
In the recording, a female voice is heard taken responsibility for the deaths of Turkish Consul-General Sarik Ariyak, aged 50, and his bodyguard, Engin Sever, aged 28.
The pair were shot outside a home in Dover Heights about 9:45 a.m. on December 17, 1980.
No-one has ever been charged over the murders, and a $1 million reward is on offer for anyone who can provide information leading to an arrest and conviction.
Turkish diplomat Sarik Ariyak, 50, and his bodyguard, Engin Sever, 28, were assassinated on a Sydney street in 1980. (NSW Police)A police officer stands guard over slain consular bodyguard Engin Sever’s car on December 17, 1980. (Alan Gilbert Purcell/Fairfax Media)
The female voice claims the assassination was done on behalf of “of the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide.”
The assassination of Ariyak and Sever was the first international politically motivated attack on Australian soil.
Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Commander, Assistant Commissioner Mark Walton, has urged the community to listen to the recording intently as investigators are also seeking assistance to decipher inaudible words spoken after: “The authors of…”
Sarik Ariyak and his wife Demet, who witnessed the assassination from the driveway of her home. (Barry James Gilmour/Fairfax Media)
“Identifying the female through her voice – or recognizing any indecipherable words in the audio – will greatly assist us with this investigation,” Walton said.
“Police have strong reason to believe that there are members of the public who are aware of who this person is, and we urge them to come forward.
“While we continue this investigation, we suspect there are people who know exactly what happened that day but have not yet been willing to speak with authorities.
“We’d like to hear from these people as soon as possible, as well as anyone whose memory may be refreshed by the audio we’ve released – no matter how insignificant the information may seem, it could be invaluable to the investigation.”
Two men are wanted over the assassination of Turkish diplomat Sarik Ariyak in 1980. (NSW Police)Then federal treasurer, John Howard addresses the service for Sarik Ariyak and his bodyguard at the Turkish consulate in Woollahra on December 24, 1980. (Adrian GreerMichael Short/Fairfax Media)
Ariyak and Sever were killed as they left the residence in separate vehicles.
Police said they were approached by two men who fired “multiple shots at close range”.
They fled the scene on a motorbike.
Ariyak died on the scene and Sever passed away a short time later at St Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst.
Anyone with information that may assist Strike Force Esslemont investigators is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or here.
Six Democratic senators introduced legislation preventing federal civil service positions from being reclassified outside of a merit-based system, protecting tens of thousands of federal employees.
Why it matters: It follows reporting from Axios’ Jonathan Swan on former President Trump’s plans to replace huge chunks of government employees with his own army of tens of thousands of loyalists by establishing a new Schedule F employment category for federal employees.
The details: The new bill would prevent any position in the federal civil service from being reclassified outside of merit system principles without the express consent of Congress.
The bill, led by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), is also co-sponsored by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D- Md.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.).
In the House, Rep. Gerry Connelly (D-Va.) introduced legislation co-sponsored by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) that was passed this month.
Connelly has consistently raised alarm about the need to protect the civil service. “Congress must assert itself and ensure no future president can repeat what Trump has already tried to do once, and now is reportedly planning to do again,” Connelly wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece citing Axios reporting.
What they’re saying: “Our civil service plays an invaluable role in everything from our national security to the administration of Social Security benefits, and it’s in Americans’ best interest that those positions be filled with the most qualified applicants,” Kaine said in a statement.
“Workplace protections for federal workers exist for a reason: so any one administration cannot fire career employees and install their own political appointees,” Feinstein said in a statement.
The last thing we need is for a president to fire dedicated and experienced public servants and replace them with sycophants and grifters without the skills to carry out the functions of government within the rule of law,” Cardin said in a statement.
“Keeping partisan politics out of our civil service is crucial to upholding its integrity and maintaining an efficient and effective federal government,” Van Hollen said in a statement.
If you’ve played Apex Legends for any length of time in the past, you’re probably well aware of how dominant shotguns and SMGs were in the meta. Over time, however, the map began to grow, leading players to start using mid and long-range weapons, such as sniper rifles and assault rifles, leaving many to wonder why anyone would use an SMG if they didn’t have to.
That’s fixing to change with the new season. In Season 14: Hunted, new attachments for SMGs and pistols are on their way. This attachment, a laser sight, will reduce bullet spread when players fire from the hip — which is the intended way to use such short-range weapons. These laser sights will replace the barrel stabilizer in-game for the barrel attachment slot.
For colourblind players or players that like to change things up, you’re able to change the color of the laser pointer in your game settings. A welcome inclusion, as I can’t imagine light red against green grass is easily visible in the heat of battle.
In addition to this change, Kings Canyon has been reworked heavily. New areas, new routes, new points of interest and more were designed to encourage close-range combat and shift away from the sniper and rifle-heavy meta of previous seasons.
The new Season starts off August 10th, featuring plenty of changes alongside a new Legend — Vantage. We’ll have plenty of info about her in future articles.
Be sure to hit up our Apex Legends – Season 14 hub for more on the new Season: Hunted.
The Greens are set to reveal their stance on the federal government’s proposed climate change bill as parliamentarians on all sides have their say on the legislation.
The government’s proposal enshrines an emissions reduction target of 43 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050, and will also require the minister of the day to report annually to parliament on the nation’s progress toward that goal.
Greens Leader Adam Bandt will reveal the outcome of a party meeting on Tuesday night, when members debated the proposal, at an address to the National Press Club on Wednesday.
Negotiations between Mr Bandt and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen have been ongoing after the Greens expressed initial concerns with the bill.
Labor needs the support of all 12 Greens senators plus one crossbencher in order to pass the upper house. While emissions reductions targets were important, it was more important to introduce policies to uphold them, Mr Bowen said.
“The other thing that’s important to get investment in renewable energy and to get the targets underway is certainty and policy frameworks being legislated,” he told parliament on Tuesday.
“Not only does Australia now have a government that gets it, we have a parliament that gets it too and will provide that policy certainty and framework for investors right around the world.”
Independent MPs Helen Haines and Kate Chaney are absent from parliament this week after testing positive to COVID-19, but other crossbenchers will propose amendments in their names.
Ms Chaney’s amendment would ensure the bill clearly states that its intention is to actually drive climate action and is linked to science.
“The science shows a target of at least 50 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030 is needed,” she said in a statement.
“But I am keen to lock in this progress and continue to work with the government to pursue the opportunities presented by this necessary shift in our economic activity.”
Dr Haine’s amendments would ensure regional Australia benefits from action on climate change.
A meeting of Liberal and Nationals MPs and senators on Tuesday affirmed their opposition to the bill.
The coalition will develop its own climate policy in time for the next election which will include updated targets beyond their existing 26 to 28 per cent reduction proposal.
The Port of New York and New Jersey announced new tariffs on Tuesday related to empty containers and export volume in its battle to decrease container congestion. Both loaded and empty containers that are considered long-dwelling will be subject to a quarterly “container imbalance fee.” The tariff will be effective as of September 1, pending the mandatory federal 30-day notice.
The Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest port on the East Coast and the third-largest in the nation. Products that were recently processed through customs in July range from BMW motorcycles and dresses for David’s Bridal out of China, parts for Plug Power, a gas cooker for Tractor Supply, and a “12 Days of Beauty Box” for Target.
But just like other ports, the Port of New York and New Jersey has processed record volumes of import containers during the pandemic and has seen these import containers wait longer at the terminals. These containers have clogged land capacity and slowed down port productivity. As a result, more vessels wait at anchor.
Under the new tariff, ocean carriers who do not move empty containers out of the port will be charged $100 per container. The port’s new container export levels mandate that export volumes must equal or exceed 110% of an ocean carrier’s incoming container volume during the same period. If that benchmark is not met, the ocean carrier will be assessed a fee of $100 per container for failing to hit this benchmark. Both loaded and empty containers are included in the import container count. Rail volume is excluded.
Record cargo volume, excess containers
Surrounding land is also being used by the port to make room for the excess containers. The port created temporary storage for both empty containers and long-dwelling import containers in a 12-acre lot within the Port Newark and the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal. The port is also in negotiations and researching additional areas that could be used for storage space.
“As we continue to manage record cargo volume and work with our tenants and port stakeholders for the removal of empty containers in a timely manner, we call on all industry stakeholders to find sustainable, long-term solutions to an industrywide problem affecting many US ports ,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole.
The decrease in productivity can be seen in the increased travel time of vessels. The increased anchorage times can be tracked in the vessel transit time from China to the Port of New York and New Jersey.
“The Port of New York and New Jersey is facing record import volumes, leading to empty containers accumulating in and around the port complex that are now affecting the regional supply chain that is already under stress from various sources across the country,” said Bethann Rooney , director of the Port Department at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “We emphatically encourage ocean carriers to step up their efforts to evacuate empty containers quicker and at higher volumes to free up much needed capacity for arriving imports in order to keep commerce moving through the port and the region.”
European goods and German port stresses
East Coast ports like New York receive a lot of goods from Europe, where trade has been severely impacted by ongoing labor strife at both ports and rails. Exports bound for the United States are at least two months late.
Among the thousands of containers that were imported into the Port of New York and New Jersey in the month of July, according to a review of customs data using ImportGenius, there was wine from Spain, pasta, Prosecco and Giorgio Armani suits from Italy, and furniture from France.
Planet, a new contributor to the CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map, captured photos to show the impact of the rail strikes that have left a crush of containers at the rail terminals in Hamburg. Because of extensive cloud cover in July, the comparisons are between May 15, 2022 and June 11, 2022. The buildup of containers can clearly be seen. With the labor strife continuing, the number of containers has grown, according to logistics experts, and that is slowing down trade.
Hamburg rail terminal comparisons
Planet
“The rail situation in the Ports of Germany, especially in Hamburg, remains stressed and the congestion is increasing,” said Andreas Braun, Europe, Middle East, and Africa ocean product director of Crane Worldwide Logistics.
Rail operators constantly miss their normal delivery and pick up windows, and can still not deliver laden containers to the terminal earlier than seven days prior to loading. Due to the summer passenger schedule, container train operators have to give right of way to the increased amount of passenger trains, which additionally contributes to the delays.
“At least one week of delays is normal by now however, that can go up to two weeks and the constant threat that you miss the vessel,” Braun said.
The CNBC Supply Chain Heat Map data providers are artificial intelligence and predictive analytics company Everstream Analytics; global freight booking platform Freightos, creator of the Freightos Baltic Dry Index; logistics provider OL USA; supply chain intelligence platform FreightWaves; supply chain platform Blume Global; third-party logistics provider Orient Star Group; marine analytics firm MarineTraffic; maritime visibility data company Project44; maritime transport data company MDS Transmodal UK; ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform Xeneta; leading provider of research and analysis Sea-Intelligence ApS; Crane Worldwide Logistics; and air, DHL Global Forwarding; freight logistics provider Seko Logistics; and Planet, provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions.
