Traffic jumps at smaller ports as result of Hurricane Katrina

The Morning Call ^ | Sept 9, 2005 | Emery P. Dalesio

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Extra workloads have taxed some docks. Costs will be passed along to consumers.

RALEIGH, N.C. | The docks in Morehead City are booming this week, as longshoremen unload twice the amount of rubber that normally passes through the port. The same is true at the Port of Pensacola in Florida, where cargo traffic has jumped by about 60 percent in the days since Hurricane Katrina and companies are calling to see how much more steel, lumber and other products it can handle.

''I've been here eight years and I've never seen this level of activity before,'' Pensacola port director Leon Walker said.

But the boon to Pensacola and other ports could prove a bane to consumers, as businesses look to pass on a host of costs related to Katrina as higher prices.

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But while some ship owners and operators have quickly made arrangements for their cargo, others are weighing diversion against waiting for New Orleans or another particular port to reopen.

They must consider the value of the cargo, its perishability and whether manufacturing plants are counting on timely delivery, Ellis said. Some shippers will choose to pay more to ship via air, as they did in 2002 when labor unrest closed ports along the West Coast, he said.

''We do have a system of ports and thank God for that,'' Ellis said. ''If one part of the system goes down, there are alternatives so that we as consumers are not dependent on goods moving through one port.''

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I would assume it would also depend on the access to rail lines and Trucking/Air Cargo Hubs.