Discussions on a labor agreement between the International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Exchange are to continue this week, the USMX said. It said the talks this week will mainly involve Container Royalty payments.

The Florida East Coast Railway signed a joint marketing agreement with Port Everglades to promote the new 42.5-acre near-port intermodal container transfer facility, which is expected to break ground in early 2013 and be completed in Spring 2014, they said. The agreement calls for joint promotions including international business development, the creation of promotional materials, shared sponsorships and milestone events.

Container imports at the Port of Long Beach rose 20.2 percent in November, and exports were up 24.6 percent compared to the same period a year ago, port officials said. Port terminals handled 555,513 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) overall, up 20.8 percent from November 2011, as more ocean carriers added services to Long Beach in recent months. After mostly declining traffic in the middle of the year, the late boost helped bring Port cargo volumes closer to 2011 levels, they said. For the first 11 months of the year, imports are virtually flat compared to the same period a year ago, down 0.3 percent, and exports are up 2 percent. Overall container volume was down 1.2 percent through November due mainly to a decline in empty container traffic, which is down 5.9 percent in the same period.

Negotiators for an East Coast-Gulf longshoremen contract agreed to continue meeting next week, at least until Dec. 18, in Newark, N.J., officials said (here). The talks will continue with a small negotiating committee, they said after talks Dec. 10-12 in Delray Beach, Fla. The parties have agreed to make no statements about the talks, and have not even confirmed press reports that the union has authorized International Longshoremen's Association President Harold Daggett to call a strike Dec. 29 if the talks fail.

The Abu Dhabi Ports Co. said it ordered three more of the largest cranes in the world, placing orders with the ZPMC yard in Shanghai, China, for three new STS (ship to shore) cranes. The new cranes are scheduled to become operational at the port by March 1, 2014, joining six other ZPMC STS cranes currently operating at Khalifa Port. ADPC also said it ordered 12 new ASC (Automated Stacking Cranes) for the container yard from Konecranes, who supplied the current 30 ASC cranes onsite. The first six are scheduled to be delivered by January 2014, and the remaining six two months later.

The Port of Virginia had its second-best month in history in terms of TEUs and containers, and its best month for general cargo volume, it said. In November, the port handled 198,720 TEUs, up 21.2 percent over the same month last year. For the first 11 months, the port handled 1,920,137 TEUs, vs. 1,763,729 TEUs during the same period last year, up 8.9 percent. The 11-month total topped the full year of 2011, said Rodney Oliver, interim executive director of the Virginia Port Authority.

CMA CGM, the third-largest container shipping line, bought a stake in the Port of Long Beach's Pier J, eventually bringing an additional 2.6 million container units to the port and increasing port revenue by about $70 million over the next five years, port officials said. The deal makes CMA a partner in the lease and operations of the 256-acre terminal and is CMA's first investment in a port on the West Coast. As a result, its ships will call exclusively at the Port of Long Beach when using the San Pedro Bay gateway, the officials said. Pier J is home to Pacific Container Terminal. CMA CGM operates 395 vessels calling at 400 ports.

The Small Business Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency will be coming to the Port of New York and New Jersey Dec. 17-19 to provide information on federal assistance to small businesses trying to recover from Hurricane Sandy, the port authority said. There will be a town hall type informational session Dec. 18 at 10 a.m. (ET) in the New York Shipping Association Training Center, 1210 Corbin St., Elizabeth, N.J. Following the all hands meeting, the SBA will be available Dec. 18-19 at the Training Center to answer individual questions, help file a claim, or apply for a loan, among other things, it said. RSVP to John Rizzuto at jrizzuto@panynj.gov or (201) 578-2128 by Dec. 17.

The Port of Oakland continued taking what it called "comprehensive and decisive action that demonstrates a new era of transparency and accountability at the Port," it said Dec. 10. The actions, which follow an investigation by the port's outside counsel into expense reimbursement practices and policies that led to executive resignations, include:

The National Retail Federation urged the International Longshoremen’s Association and U.S. Maritime Alliance to reach an immediate contract agreement before the Dec,.29 deadline, in order to ensure a secure and dependable supply chain along the East and Gulf Coast ports, in a letter to both sides. Another round of contract talks is set for next week.