A new wave of development is ripping through downtown Detroit.
“Walking around Detroit in 2008 or 2009 is not the same as walking around in 2022,” said Ramy Habib, a local entrepreneur. “It is absolutely magnificent what happened throughout those 15 years.”
Between 2010 and 2019, just 708 new housing structures went up in the city of Detroit, according to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
Much of the new construction traces back to the philanthropic wings of large local businesses. For example, Ford Motor is nearing completion of a 30-acre mixed-used development at Michigan Central Station. The station sat abandoned for years as the city fell into bankruptcy.
Detroit’s decline into insolvency formed amid 20th century globalization in the auto industry, according to economists. The city’s population fell from 1.8 million to 639,000 in the most recent but controversial count by the US Census. “With the population leaving, with the infrastructure staying in place, it meant strains on the city. Cumulatively, they started to mount over time,” said Raymond Owens III, a former senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
The 2007-08 Great Recession left another round of scars on the city as scores of homes fell into foreclosure. The US Treasury Department has since funded the removal of 15,000 blighted structures in the city. “A lot of Black people are leaving the city. So sometimes that identity can change and shift in certain communities,” said Alphonso Carlton Jr, a lifelong Detroit resident.
Local leaders have used tax and spending policies to advance economic development downtown. In July 2022, the Detroit City Council finalized a tax abatement for the real estate developer Bedrock to finance the $1.4 billion Hudson’s site project. The abatement could be worth up to $60 million over its 10-year span. Bedrock is in a family of companies controlled by billionaire investor Dan Gilbert, who moved several of his businesses from him downtown in 2010.
Bedrock told CNBC that decision was consistent with the council’s handling of other major developments, due to high local tax rates. One local analysis suggests that in 2020, Detroit’s effective property tax rate on homes was more than double the national average. Detroit’s new tax, spending and placemaking policies have drawn the interests of bond investors in recent years, providing another source of revenue for the local government.
Watch the video above to learn more about Detroit’s escape from bankruptcy.
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications has issued recall notices to the owners of 13,898 Holden ZB Commodore cars.
Key points:
A defect that may cause the brake booster to fail has been seen 13,898 Holden ZB Commodore cars recalled
The defect may increase the risk of accidents, serious injuries or fatalities, according to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications
Drivers are being asked to contact their closest Holden dealer to have their cars’ software updated for free
In a statement, the department said a manufacturing defect with the vehicle’s brake boosters could “increase the risk of an accident” and cause “serious injury or death.”
The vehicles in question were sold to drivers from 2018 to 2020.
“Due to a manufacturing defect, the brake booster may fail,” the department said in its statement.
“If this occurs, the stopping distance in the un-boosted condition would exceed the distance prescribed by the Australian Design Rule (ADR) 31/03.”
The department said the vehicles were “not compliant with the vehicle standard (ADR) 31/03-Brake Systems for Passenger Cars”.
If the brake booster failed to operate as intended, the department said, “it could increase the risk of an accident causing serious injury or death to vehicle occupants and/or other road users.”
A full list of the affected vehicle identification numbers has been provided by the department.
Affected owners offered free software update
The department said owners of affected cars would be contacted by General Motors Australia and New Zealand.
Drivers have been asked to contact their local dealer to have the Electronic Brake Control Module (EBCM) software updated, free of charge.
While the update is free, it’s up to vehicle owners to organize a time to have the task done.
So, if you’re affected, get in touch with your nearest Holden dealer to check availability.
ZB is last Holden model with iconic Commodore badge
The German-sourced ZB was the last Holden model to feature Holden’s iconic Commodore name.
At the end of 2019, the automobile manufacturer announced it would withdraw both the model and the Holden brand in Australia and New Zealand in 2020.
Queensland’s Transport Minister has described Brisbane City Council’s latest vision for a new toll road to relieve congestion in the city’s north-west as a “feeble fantasy” and a “farce”.
Key points:
A study into solutions for Brisbane’s north-west transport corridor has drawn a fierce reaction from the Queensland government
Brisbane City Council conducted the study which recommends two tunnels
Transport Minister Mark Bailey says the state wasn’t consulted on the study
The six-lane tunnel, which would run between Bald Hills and connect with the Airport Link at Kedron, was part of the outcome of a $10 million federally-funded study undertaken over two years by the council.
It found northern Brisbane’s annual congestion and public transport crowding was costing $312 million per year.
That would rise to $538.5m by 2031 and $859m by 2041.
The study found significant community opposition towards any surface road or rail development through the North West Transport Corridor, which had been reserved by the state government since the 1980s.
Mr Bailey says the council had to cancel big projects yet released a study which recommended multi-billion-dollar road network infrastructure builds.(ABC News: Ashleigh Stevenson)
But Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the major toll road had been costed with “no funding, no consultation with other levels of government, and no idea how to fix congestion.”
He also criticized the council’s decision to cut projects in its June budget, citing the cost of rebuilding from February’s floods, yet unveil billions of dollars in new road infrastructure via the north-west transport study.
“Only a month ago, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner was saying the council was broke and had to cut a lot of projects citywide and now they have a plan to spend $25 billion on new tollways and motorways,” Mr Bailey said.
“It is very clear this tired 20-year-old council is out of touch and out of ideas.
Cr Schrinner has defended the study saying it offered solutions to a growing problem.(ABC News: Alicia Nally)
“Recently, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner cut the North Brisbane Bikeway, cut upgrades to Mowbray Park, and refused to pay a fair share for the Cooper Plains level crossing removal because they are so broke, and yet here he is spending like a drunken sailor with his ridiculous $14 billion toll road plan.
“The state government had no input into the study that was funded by the former Morrison Government despite the state government owning the corridor which shows what a farce this announcement is.
“The immediate focus should be on upgrading services on Gympie Road, which we are already doing through the $72 million Northern Transitway project which we are fully funded.
“The study entirely ignores that project.
“Tell the Lord Mayor he is dreaming.”
‘Doing nothing not an option’
Yet, Cr Schrinner said the council had “done some planning work to assist” in reducing congestion in a burgeoning part of the city.
He also hit back at the state for setting aside land and not using it to improve transport networks.
An artist’s impression shows a Gympie Rd precinct as part of north-west transport corridor improvement.(Supplied: Brisbane City Council)
“We’re concerned about what we see as a black hole for investment for infrastructure from the state government for the north-west suburbs,” Cr Schrinner said.
“That land was intended to be a transport corridor yet it has disappeared from any infrastructure plans and residents are asking what is going to happen in the north-western suburbs. The area is growing and there are no plans from the state government coming out.
“Doing nothing is simply not an option.”
Cr Schrinner also defended suggestions tunnels could fix the area’s woes and said that option would preserve a large tract of bushland which was home to native flora and fauna.
“The corridor that was set aside years ago has really healthy depth of wildlife,” he said.
“And so our investigation identified that any solutions to transport challenges in that part of the world should be underground, not as surface, not using the surface corridor, not bulldozing bushland, not putting threatened species at risk but going underground
“Whether it is train tunnels, motorway tunnels, or a new bus rapid transport system, using the metro buses up Gympie Rd.”
Accusations of council’s ‘secret plan’
The Lord Mayor faced more criticism from the Labor Opposition and state government for allegedly going back on a promise not to build more toll roads in the city.
Both Mr Bailey and Brisbane City Council Labor leader Jared Cassidy said reports showed road options would be tolled.
“Before the 2020 election Adrian Schrinner ducked questions about a northside toll road but now his secret plan has been revealed,” Mr Bailey said.
Cr Cassidy said the LNP council had done a “backflip”.
“It is there in black and white – that the North West motorway will have tolled options considered,” he said.
“This plan is meant to be a missing link for the motorway network – but this council is missing the mark.”
The North West Transport Corridor runs from Everton Park to Carseldine and is owned by the Queensland Government.(Supplied: Brisbane City Council)
Describing the allegations as a “scare campaign”, Cr Schrinner said planning for the north-west had been left “too long”.
“We know there won’t be any roads or infrastructure if it’s left to the Labor party,” he said.
“We’re looking at real solutions. This report identifies multiple options to improve the transport infrastructure in the north west suburbs.”
The report would now go to the state and federal government and Infrastructure Australia for review.
The viability of a tunnel stretching nearly 12 kilometers from Bald Hills to Kedron and costing at least $9.5 billion is being investigated.
Key points:
A study has found congestion in the city’s north-west is costing $312 million per year
The $10 million study was funded by the federal government
Two tunnels and a bus network were costed as a part of the study
The six-lane tunnel, which would connect with the Airport Link, was part of the outcome of a $10 million federally-funded study undertaken over two years by Brisbane City Council.
It found northern Brisbane’s annual congestion and public transport crowding was costing $312 million per year.
That would rise to $538.5 million by 2031 and $859 million by 2041.
The study found significant community opposition towards any surface road or rail development through the North West Transport Corridor, which had been reserved by the state government since the 1980s.
The North West Transport Corridor runs from Everton Park to Carseldine and is owned by the Queensland Government.(Supplied: Brisbane City Council)
Stretching from Carseldine to Alderley and including the Chermside Hills Reserve, the land was a “significant biodiversity corridor” likely to contain a number of observed threatened species, the study.
The North West Transport Network study investigated several underground alternatives, including a motorway and heavy rail option, as well as complementary above-ground bus and active transport solutions.
Bus network, another tunnel costed
Brisbane Civic Cabinet Chair for Infrastructure Andrew Wines said all levels of government needed to work together on transport solutions for Brisbane’s north.
“This study demonstrates that doing nothing isn’t an option,” Mr Wines said.
“Brisbane is the fastest growing capital city in the country and our northern neighbors in Moreton Bay are also growing quickly.
The study also assessed building a complementary Bus Rapid Transport system along Gympie Road from the Northern Busway at Kedron to Aspley at a cost of between $758 million and $1.1 billion.
A longer-term option of extending the underground motorway with an 11 kilometer tunnel from McDowall to Toowong by 2041 was also considered.
That tunnel was cost at between $7.8 billion and $11.5 billion.
Brisbane City Council Labor leader Jared Cassidy said Brisbane’s LNP council had announced a multi-billion dollar proposal “without saying when it will be funded”.
“It’s a bit rich for [Brisbane Mayor] Adrian Schrinner to put forward a multi-billion dollar proposal when his administration can’t even complete their own projects,” Mr Cassidy said.
“If this LNP administration can’t finish the North Brisbane Bikeway – how can it propose a multi-billion dollar plan for this North West motorway?
He said it was a proposal for a tolled tunnel.
“This is a backflip from the LNP,” he said.
“It is there in black and white – that the North West motorway will have tolled options considered.
“This plan is meant to be a missing link for the motorway network – but this council is missing the mark.”
Call for government cooperation
Mr Wines said the study had been sent to the federal and state governments, as well as Infrastructure Australia, for consideration.
“Clearly what has been put forward in this study is far beyond the means of local government,” he said.
“We are eager to talk further with the state and federal government about these proposals and hear about any other ideas they might have to deal with northern Brisbane’s transport needs.”
He said the study showed the economic cost of north Brisbane’s congestion would be $1.5 million a day within a decade which was “totally unacceptable”.
For regional motorists in South Australia, options are few and far between when it comes to the rapid charging of electric vehicles (EVs).
Key points:
Initial SA EV charging network will have gaps no longer than 200kms
100 of 140 sites have been assessed so far by the RAA
Construction aims to be completed by the end of 2023
For some people, like Katherine Tuft from Roxby Downs, the EV infrastructure turned what would be a seven-hour drive to Adelaide into 10 hours.
“It’s quite doable but it’s not the most efficient way to get around as far out as we are, but that’s nothing to do with the car and all to do with the inadequacy of the charging network,” she said.
EVs can be charged from just about any power outlet, but Ms Tuft said it wasn’t about the number of charge points but the speed capability of the chargers.
“We’ll get to Port Augusta on about 30 per cent battery after having left at 100 per cent,” she said.
“There’s nowhere fast to charge, which is why we’ll sit on them for an hour or so and get another 10 or 15 per cent and that’s enough to get us to Clare, where there is a fast charger.
“We can then zip up to 80 per cent within half an hour and get to Adelaide.”
Janie Butterworth has had a rapid charging station outside her Port Lincoln business for five years.
As a destination point on the tip of the Eyre Peninsula, she has observed another issue of a patchy regional charging network.
“Hardly anybody uses it, people probably don’t come out this far if they’ve got an electric vehicle because it’s logistically impossible,” Ms Butterworth said.
“If you’re going to drive it somewhere that’s too far from your house, you’re going to get stuck charging it somewhere for a long time.”
Regional network update
To address range anxiety and charge time delays, in February a $12.4 million state government grant was awarded to the Royal Automobile Association (RAA) to construct a 140-site fast and rapid charging network across South Australia.
Project director Andrew Howard said 100 of those sites had been assessed for charging capabilities.
“The final list of site hosts will be available towards the end of this year and we’ll be well and truly into the construction phase early next year when all the details will be complete,” Mr Howard said.
“We’ll have a maximum distance between sites of 200 kilometers. In many cases, it’ll be far less and that will be well within range of a full charge for most EVs.”
Mr Howard said the network would serve as a basis for further charging points to be installed to close gaps between destinations.
“The network is really about solving range anxiety for South Australians,” he said.
“We know that up to 80 per cent of people are considering EVs as their next vehicle purchase.”
“This is about breaking that catch 22 scenario where people won’t buy EVs until there’s a network and there won’t be a network until there’s enough EVs.
“This network and the regional focus is all about creating that initial coverage and, of course, EV charging will grow as the fleet does.”
Regional councils plugging in
Copper Coast Council chief executive Russell Peate said charging sites at Wallaroo and Kadina could be linked to the network after RAA assessment.
“They will do a physical inspection with us shortly,” Mr Peate said.
“After that, it’ll be about agreeing about the actual site, the logistics, and having a host agreement in place.
“Once that’s done, I suspect it’ll only be two months before it’s installed.”
Until the first charging sites come online, prospective EV owners like Janie Butterworth will not be considering electric road trips.
“Personally, I would like an electric car but, living where I live, I would have it plugged in and charging at my house and just drive it around town,” she said.
Australian motorists could have saved $5.9 billion on fuel costs if efficiency standards were introduced in 2015, according to a report from The Australia Institute.
It’s one of the headline points from a discussion paper by the Canberra-based think tank, which argues how the country could benefit from fuel efficiency standards.
To give you an idea of the current state of play, Australia is one of the few developed nations without such regulations. Let’s have a look at what the report says.
Where does Australia stand?
Fuel efficiency standards are aimed at regulating carbon dioxide emissions.
They have been adopted by 80 per cent of the global light vehicle market.
But Australia doesn’t have them.
Usually, countries have a fleet average efficiency standard, which means that manufacturers pay a penalty if they exceed that target.
For example, a company could be penalized if they sell too many gas-guzzling SUVs.
To avoid this, companies are encouraged to sell low-emissions vehicles to meet the average efficiency standard for the fleet of cars they sell.
The report’s author, Audrey Quicke, says the introduction of these standards would reduce Australia’s transport emissions, which account for 18 per cent of the nation’s total emissions.
It’s argued that this move would also save motorists money, increase the availability of electric vehicle models in Australia and reduce the nation’s reliance on imported oil.
According to the report, higher standards would save motorists money because more efficient vehicles use less fuel to travel the same distance.
OK, where does that $5.9 billion figure come from?
The report estimates Australians could have avoided spending almost $6 billion on fuel if efficiency standards were introduced about six years ago.
That means Australia could have imported 4000 megalitres less oil and about 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide could have been prevented from going into the atmosphere.
The report used estimates from three researchers — Robin Smit, Jake Whitehead and Nic Surawski — and data from 2016 to 2021 to come up with the $5.9 billion figure.
You can read how the researchers came up with their workings in the full The Australia Institute report.
Why don’t we have fuel efficiency targets like other countries?
Disinformation and misleading claims about the costs of efficiency standards have been the barrier to their introduction for more than a decade, according to the report.
Advocates say fuel efficiency standards would encourage electric vehicle manufacturers to increase supply to Australia. (ABC Broken Hill: Jonathon Poulson)
There have been multiple attempts to introduce fuel efficiency targets over the years.
Reports, a private members bill, an inquiry and government commitments on the issue dating back to 2008 have all been unsuccessful.
Voluntary rules have been in place in Australia since the 1970s, and a new industry-led emissions standard was introduced in 2020 for passenger cars and SUVs.
The report says these standards, led by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), are weak compared to international standards.
“Under the voluntary standard there is no incentive to meet targets and no penalty for noncompliance,” the report says.
“Results from the voluntary scheme, released in March 2022, show most car brands in the passenger car segment failed to meet their brand-specific emissions targets.”
The FCAI wants the current voluntary standards to continue.
Why is this report coming out now?
Now is the time for action, according to The Australian Institute’s climate and energy program director Richie Merzian.
He says Australia needs to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles and limit the sale of new ones by 2035.
“Cars can only last for 15–20 years. If you want to clean up your fleet, you need to start now,” he said.
“And you start not just by pushing for more electric vehicles, which are great, but for cleaning up the existing ones.”
His group will also co-host an electric vehicle summit being attended by the federal Climate Change and Energy Minister, Chris Bowen, next month.
“This is the opportunity to finally once and for all commit to this and this has been done and talked about for the last 20 years. Now is the time for action,” Mr Merzian said.
Emissions from transport make up one-fifth of Australia’s total and are among the fastest-growing sources nationally, making the sector key to achieving the national target of a 43 per cent cut in emissions by 2030.
Who is phasing out internal combustion engines?
As a start, the European Union. The bloc has agreed to phase out the sale of new internal combustion engines passenger by 2035.
In Australia, the only jurisdiction aiming to do something similar by 2035 is the ACT, which made the announcement last month.
Could it make electric vehicles cheaper?
Demand for electric vehicles in Australia is currently outstripping supply.
Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said the introduction of fuel efficiency standards would encourage manufacturers to increase supply to Australia.
“If we want to see larger and more frequent shipments of EVs to Australia, the government should ignore the weak standards some in industry are lobbying for,” Mr Jafari said.
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Flash flooding at Death Valley National Park triggered by heavy rainfall on Friday buried cars, forced officials to close all roads in and out the park and stranded about 1,000 people, officials said
The park near the California-Nevada state line received at least 1.7 inches (4.3 centimeters) of rain at the Furnace Creek area, which park officials in a statement said represented “nearly an entire year’s worth of rain in one morning.” The park’s average annual rainfall is 1.9 inches (4.8 centimeters).
About 60 vehicles were buried in debris and about 500 visitors and 500 park workers were stranded, park officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries and the California Department of Transportation estimated it would take four to six hours to open a road that would allow park visitors to leave.
It was the second major flooding event at the park this week. Some roads were closed Monday after they were inundated with mud and debris from flash floods that also hit western Nevada and northern Arizona hard.
The rain started around 2 am, said John Sirlin, a photographer for an Arizona-based adventure company who witnessed the flooding as he perched on a hillside boulder where he was trying to take pictures of lightning as the storm approached.
“It was more extreme than anything I’ve seen there,” said Sirlin, who lives in Chandler, Arizona, and has been visiting the park since 2016. He is the lead guide for Incredible Weather Adventures and said he started chasing storms in Minnesota and the high plains in the 1990s.
“I’ve never seen it to the point where entire trees and boulders were washing down. The noise from some of the rocks coming down the mountain was just incredible,” he said in a phone interview Friday afternoon.
“A lot of washes were flowing several feet deep. There are rocks probably 3 or 4 feet covering the road,” he said.
Sirlin said it took him about 6 hours to drive about 35 miles (56 kilometers) out of the park from near the Inn at Death Valley.
“There were at least two dozen cars that got smashed and stuck in there,” he said, adding that he didn’t see anyone injured “or any high water rescues.”
During Friday’s rainstorms, the “flood waters pushed dumpster containers into parked cars, which caused cars to collide into one another. Additionally, many facilities are flooded including hotel rooms and business offices,” the park statement said.
A water system that provides it for park residents and offices also failed after a line broke that was being repaired, the statement said.
A flash flood warning for the park and surrounding area expired at 12:45 pm, Friday but a flood advisory remained in effect into the evening, the National Weather Service said.
Infrastructure WA, the body charged with advising the Premier’s Department on the state’s medium and long-term infrastructure needs, has proposed overhauling road funding by eventually replacing the fuel excise with a road-user charge that also creates incentives to reduce congestion.
Key points:
Infrastructure WA has made 93 recommendations about the state’s future needs
The report aims to guide planning and investment for the next 20 years
The state government is required to respond within six months
The wide-ranging 20-year plan, Foundations for a Stronger Tomorrow, was tabled in State Parliament on Wednesday.
One of the 93 recommendations involves planning for the eventual transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles and how road infrastructure will be funded with the decrease of the fuel excise.
Nicole Lockwood, chair of Infrastructure WA, told Nadia Mitsopoulos on ABC Radio Perth that while the switch to electric vehicles would be “fantastic for the environment and climate change,” it also posed challenges.
“It does mean that the revenue source that comes from our fuel at the moment, that goes towards paying for our roads, will diminish over time,” she said.
“SW [the recommendation] is trying to find a mechanism where the government still has the ability to fund that infrastructure in a way that doesn’t disincentivize people from moving towards electric vehicles.”
EV tax coming in 2027
While the state government has already announced it will introduce a 2.5 cent per kilometer charge for EV’s from mid-2027, Infrastructure WA’s recommendation 58 goes further, proposing that WA work with other states to develop a nationally consistent road user charge that could influence driver behaviour. .
“The scheme has the potential to include vehicle mass, distance, location and time-of-day pricing elements,” the recommendation says.
Such a scheme could potentially charge different rates for road usage in peak hours, or differential rates for different roads.
Ms Lockwood says the report recommends looking at ways to influence congestion and road use.(ABC News: Andrew O’Connor)
“What we’ve said is, let’s design a mechanism that has flexibility, so that in time if we wanted to use those levers we could,” Ms Lockwood said.
“We saw it very starkly during COVID, when people were not using the roads during the day, at certain times suddenly we had huge amounts of capacity.
“In the future, when we can’t continue to build more lanes, we will need other mechanisms to be able to manage demand on the system.”
The proposal met with a mixed response from ABC Radio Perth listeners:
Mike: “Again lower socio-economic people who cannot afford to live close to work will pay the most, the system working to keep the gap between the haves and the have nots.”
Greg: “The state government is not incentivizing enough the use of electric vehicles. The proposed road tax is a major disincentive. The benefit to the environment is the major issue and there won’t be the gains there should be. We pay for our roads Mainly via our local government rates so EV drivers will be paying double if we get this bad policy.”
Cynthia: “Surely a toll on cars with only one occupant would make sense? Or a fast lane for cars with two occupants.”
While Max Light Rail was shelved in 2016, Infrastructure WA recommended future planning around light rail and rapid bus networks.(Supplied: PTA)
Planning for light rail mooted
The report also recommends the state government look again at the role of light rail and rapid bus transit in Perth’s public transport mix.
A previous plan to link Perth suburbs through the Max Light Rail network was shelved by the Barnett government in 2016, and the McGowan government has been focused on delivering its expansion of the heavy rail network, Metronet.
Ms Lockwood said a plan to link people across suburbs and between stations was still needed.
“We very much back the government’s commitments to Metronet and the heavy rail system, but what we see in the future is a need to look at the next tier of connection for the city,” she said.
“That mid-tier public transport system that links buses and other parts of the network into the Metronet network is really important.
“Part of that is about making sure that the [already identified transport] corridors are protected.
“We really have to think about the spaces we’ve got and how we use them… then the state government needs to then pull a plan together to map that out for the whole of the metro area,” she said.
The infrastructure report also recommended a new desalination plant at Alkimos, a whole-of-government emissions reduction target and a package to reform hospital emergency departments.
The WA Government has six months to respond to the report and is obliged by legislation to respond to each recommendation as well as provide an implementation plan for the ideas that it accepts.
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.
In the push to decarbonise Australia’s economy, much has been made of the need to transition to electric cars.
But advocates say there is a much cheaper and greener EV to consider — the electric bike.
While you will likely have to go on a 12-month waiting list and come up with at least $40,000 to buy a new electric car in Australia at the moment, you could get a two-wheeled vehicle with a battery that costs less than 10 cents to charge, remove easily.
Chris Jones, president of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association, says many of us have forgotten that bikes are a form of transport, and often see them as simply for fitness and recreation.
Chris Jones says EVs on two wheels seem forgotten by policy makers.(ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne)
“It’s a bit sad that this humble, very efficient, highly affordable electric vehicle is often overlooked,” Dr Jones said.
“I think a lot of people, especially in Perth, have always viewed bicycles as toys or recreation; they’re very rarely viewed as transport.”
But that is rapidly changing.
“[E-bikes] are the most abundant EV on the market right now. E-bikes are outselling electric cars 10 to one,” he said.
They range from about $1,200 to convert an existing bike to an electric motor and from $2,000 to $3,000 for a factory-built e-bike, and the running costs are “negligible”.
“The battery on my e-bike is about half a kilowatt hour. Based on Synergy [WA’s energy retailer] rates, that’s anywhere between 3.5 and 7 cents to fully charge the battery,” Dr Jones said.
‘You’re halfway there before you know it’
In the Perth hills, we met Andy, who had ridden his bike into the Kalamunda town center to do some shopping.
He bought his e-bike second-hand six months ago after his license was suspended and said it had been a practical replacement for the car, and one he planned to keep using even when he got back behind the wheel.
“It’s more fun riding to the shops and getting around than getting in the car and driving in traffic,” he said.
“And I haven’t had to worry about fuel, so that’s been good, especially with the price of fuel now. You get the pick of the parking spots.”
Andy got his e-bike six months ago, and says it is more convenient for short trips than driving.(ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne)
He has used push-bikes and motorbikes before, but the thing that surprised him most about the e-bike was just how easy it was to get around.
“It’s easier than walking out to the car and jumping in and all that turning it on and getting on the road,” he said.
“You’re halfway here before you know it.”
But it has highlighted for him the gaps in cycling infrastructure in his neighbourhood.
“The paths could be better, that’s for sure. I wouldn’t have picked up on that before.”
Removing barriers to riding
While there is nothing that an e-bike can do differently to a pedal-powered one, the powered motor removes barriers to cycling for trips where people would otherwise use their cars.
An electric motor takes away a lot of the difficulty in riding up hills.(ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne)
It is also attractive to people who want to ride but don’t have the fitness or desire to work up a sweat, but want to keep riding, according to Henry Shiel, who works at Fremantle e-bike shop Solarbike.
“We see people who, for example, want to commute a relatively short distance, but don’t feel that they want to work up too much of a sweat,” Mr Sheil said.
“The electric bike is like having a little helping hand pushing you along, you still make some effort, but you don’t work up the same sweat otherwise.
“In addition to that, quite a few parents drop their kids off to school with the bikes.
“We also have people who are older, or people who have lost perhaps a sense of balance, maybe after a little medical episode.”
.Henry Shiel repairs an e-bike wheel. (ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne)
He said the shop recently sold an electric tricycle to a young man with a disability.
“He can go out with his family and keep up with them, and his father has told me that it has really been a huge benefit to the young man in terms of his independence.
“And there’s definitely a portion of people who have decided to eliminate the car, for the cost and the environmental impact.”
Planners says encouraging people to ride rather than drive will be crucial.(ABC: Emma Wynne)
While most e-bikers choose to pedal while assisted by the motor, they do often come across the attitude that having a motor to assist is somehow cheating or failing to give them the full exercise benefit from cycling.
“I absolutely reject that,” Mr Sheil said.
“I found that [having the motor] meant that I used the bike on days that I otherwise might have gone: ‘Oh, it’s too windy, it’s too rainy, it’s too hot’ and taken the bus, or driven or something else.
“Whereas with the e-bike, I found that I actually use the bike a lot more, and therefore my aerobic fitness, felt the benefit of that.”
Reducing car use crucial to emission reduction
Removing that temptation to just jump in the car is vital if Australia is to achieve a net zero emission target, according to Courtney Babb, senior lecturer in urban and regional planning at Perth’s Curtin University.
“As part of the move towards net zero, we need to move people out of cars and to reduce car use,” Dr Babb said.
“There’s a focus on electric vehicles as doing that, and reducing our emissions that way, but that’s not going to be enough, we actually have to reduce car use.”
He says there is good evidence that e-bikes did that.
“Research shows e-bikes replace 20-80 per cent of trips in different cities around the world, with the cycling-friendly cities having the higher rates,” he said.
A bicycle boulevard in a “safe active street” in Perth’s northern suburbs.(ABC News: Gian De Poloni)
He noted since the start of the COVID pandemic, there had been a growth in sales of both bikes and e-bikes, but there were still barriers, and one of the key ones was cycling infrastructure.
“One of the main drivers for people to cycle is having safe cycling environments,” Dr Babb said.
“We have a very good primary cycling network [in Perth]although it could also be better.
“But what’s missing is a lot of the secondary links… cycling on local streets and roads in general is considered unsafe.
“The United Nations recommends that about 20 per cent of transport budgets are dedicated to active transport, and I think about 2 per cent of ours is.”
Extending EV subsidies to mooted bikes
A number of Australian states and territories now offer subsidies and rebates to buy electric cars.
Dr Babb suggested governments could look at extending that financial support to e-bikes as well.
“I think if the government was serious about de-carbonising transportation, but also addressing some of the issues associated with a very car-focused, car-dependent transport system, we need to think about solutions other than just electric cars and providing subsidies for people for e-bikes might be one way of doing that,” he said.
“Even with a subsidy or a rebate for an electric vehicle, they’re focused on people who are on the wealthier end of the spectrum.
“With e-bikes, you can maybe address people who don’t have that much money to spend on an electric car and also substitute a lot of those trips within that 15-kilometre catchment where they live.”
There are calls to extend subsidies and rebates to e-bikes.(ABC News: Gian De Poloni)
Chris Jones agrees.
“I think the fact that really efficient two-wheeled electric transport has been completely overlooked by the various schemes that are in existence is quite disappointing,” he said.
“I think governments often forget just how cheap e-bikes are as a transport option.”
