TEMCO thrives with a collective bargaining agreement with its ILWU workforce.
NOTE: In an article titled ‘Tacoma container traffic up 17 percent in May,’ the News Tribune notes that grain exports are a ‘notable plus’ for the Port. TEMCO reached a collective bargaining agreement with its ILWU workforce last year, while its Japanese competitors Mitsui and Marubeni locked out their American longshore workforces in Vancouver, Wash., and Portland, Ore. TEMCO is the only grain export terminal in the region with ownership in the US. Excerpts:
The Port of Tacoma reported this week that its terminals handled 165,053 container units last month compared with 141,002 in the same month last year. Container numbers weren’t the only cargo statistics in positive territory for the year.
Grain exports were another notable plus on the port’s spreadsheet. Those exports have risen by 48 percent for 2014 through May. The port’s Schuster Parkway grain terminal, operated by Temco, has seen a steady queue of bulk carriers anchored in Commencement Bay this year awaiting loading at the terminal.
Breakbulk cargoes also were above last year’s quantities with 98,428 short tons handled at port terminals through the end of May. That’s a 15.5 percent increase over the same period in 2013.