Gallagher Transport originally opened in Portland Oregon in 1990. We know the Pacific Northwest market very well and have had a front row view to the challenges of container shipping at Portland Port Terminal 6. After years of unpredictable revenue from Terminal 6, the port in 2010 hired International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI Oregon) to operate the container business with the hopes of providing the port a steadier revenue stream.
But that agreement had short lived success and a labor dispute between ICTSI and the Local 8 ILWU broke out in 2012. In the years following, T6 productivity declined to the point that in 2015 the the two major companies using the port, Hanjin Shipping and Hapag Lloyd declared they would cease calling on Portland. There have been no containers at all at Terminal 6 since May of 2016.
In March of 2017, the port’s commission voted unanimously to sever ties with ICTSI Oregon and has officially regained control of its container terminal. This is a big deal to the Portland metro import commercial clients. Having the Portland Port Terminal 6 operational again would have a positive impact on Portland’s commercial importers. While a solution is still a long way off; the Port Commission hopes to have a strategy in place by 2018, here at Gallagher Transport we’re hopeful that the ‘reset’ for Terminal 6 has put it back on track. And yet, the challenges are far from over and local commercial importers may still have a long wait ahead. Bill Wyatt, the port’s executive director,said “the port’s goal is to develop a container strategy for Portland that’s suited to the changing nature of an industry undergoing consolidation.” Hanjin Shipping, which formerly accounted for 80% of the container volume, will no longer exist once it undergoes bankruptcy liquidation.
To learn more, read this article by Erik Seimers, the Managing Editor of the Portland Business Journal who explains the impact and the future of Port of Portland Terminal 6.