Calling all AAPA-member ports! Mark your calendars so you won’t miss the May 1 deadline for submitting your entries into AAPA’s 2020 Communications Awards Program. On the Communications Awards Program landing page, you’ll be able to view the competition’s highlights, find links to winning entries from previous years for review and download, and navigate to the online entry materials. There you’ll also find a “Click Here to Submit” button that will link you to the entry guidelines, upload instructions for your entries, a link to securely pay for your entries, and a link to download the required PowerPoint slide template that must be completed for each entry submitted.

Sponsor a phone charging station at the AAPA Spring Conference to promote your organization while providing a valuable service to attendees. Contact Ed O’Connell at eoconnell@aapa-ports.org or (703) 706-4709 for more information.

This year we kick off the event with Chris Baldwin, president and CEO of BJ’s, who will deliver the keynote address about “Competing on the Basis of Supply Chain Excellence.” In addition, we have added new topics of interest including “The Interconnectedness of the International Supply Chain” and “Tips, Tricks & Tales from the Front Lines of Federal Advocacy for Seaports.”

To cap it off, we have two special events in store each evening. On Tuesday night, we kick off the Annual Convention in Québec by giving you a preview of what to expect when you arrive in charming Québec City next September. On Wednesday evening, we have organized an influencer’s cocktail party hosted by K&L Gates to introduce you to “who’s who” in Washington.

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The big takeaway from AAPA’s 2020 Smart Ports Seminar in Los Angles, Feb. 5-6, is that while there is huge potential in technology solutions to drive cargo efficiency and growth, and improve customer service, it’s still the people behind the technology that make the biggest difference.

“Technology will never replace people; it’ll only be as successful as the people using it,” summarized AAPA Vice President of Member Engagement Meredith Martino after the meeting. “At the end of the day, trust, collaboration and planning are the keys to success in today’s interconnected digital world.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) delivered to Congress its FY 2020 Work Plan for the Civil Works program with specific projects that will receive funding. The Work Plan distributes the programmatic funds Congress added to the Corps Investigations, Construction, and Operations and Maintenance (O&M) accounts. Over $1.6 billion was allocated for the Corps Navigation Program’s coastal and inland projects. Congress also directed that there be ‘new starts’ in the Investigations and Construction accounts. 

The Port of Corpus Christi announced over $100 million is included in the President’s FY 2021 budget proposal for the Ship Channel Improvement Project (CIP) under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Division for Coastal Navigation Construction. The Duluth Seaway Port Authority has been awarded a $10.5 million Port Infrastructure Development Program grant that will help fund construction of a 56,000-square-foot, rail-served warehouse at the Clure Public Marine Terminal, along with a dock wall rehabilitation project. Broward County’s Port Everglades announced it is one of two seaports nationwide to receive a construction “New Start” designation in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) FY 2020 Work Plan. Port Houston Chairman Ric Campo testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, on the importance of the Houston Ship Channel to “Trade Infrastructure for Global Competitiveness.” U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) announced that the Corps has allocated $274.3 million for the Port of Mobile, officially providing the resources to dredge Alabama’s premier port.  

Port Windsor is taking initial steps to prepare and fortify its waterfront harbor infrastructure against the impacts of climate change.

The Port of Baranquilla in Colombia opens its doors to educational institutions and students interested in port sector careers to learn more about operational and logistics processes at the port through its Academic Visit program. The Oregon International Port of Coos Bay announced the opening of the application period for its scholarship program. Eligible applicants must be graduating seniors from a high school within the Port District, and special consideration is given to students interested in the maritime, rail, or trade and logistics industries.

The Duluth Seaway Port Authority reported cargo volume exceeded 33.5 million short tons at the Port of Duluth-Superior for the 2019 shipping season, ranking as the port’s third highest throughput since 2015.  According to the Intermodal Association of North America's Intermodal Market Trends & Statistics report, total intermodal volumes dropped 7.4 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2019. Cargo volume was down slightly in January at the Port of Long Beach, compared to the same month in 2019. Terminal operators and dockworkers moved 626,829 TEUs last month, down 4.6 percent compared to January 2019. Port of Oakland containerized import volume jumped 7.3 percent last month over January 2019 totals. Exports were up too, the port said, lifting hopes for recovery from the U.S.-China trade war. The Port of Virginia’s loaded export cargo volumes grew nearly 2 percent as agricultural products are beginning to flow again to China as a result of the lifting of the trade tariffs in mid-January.

Director of Operations, Redwood City, California; Port of Redwood City

Director of Operations, Broward County, Florida; Port Everglades

Chief Executive Officer, Longview, Washington; Port of Longview

Chief Engineer, Camden, New Jersey; South Jersey Port Corporation

Risk Claims Specialist, Seattle, Washington; Port of Seattle

Executive Director, Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Port Administration (MDOT MPA), Hanover, Maryland; Maryland Department of Transportation

Director, Engineering Services, Kingston, Jamaica; Kingston Wharves Limited

GIA/Environmental Specialist, Cleveland, Ohio; Port of Cleveland

Director of Environmental Planning, Long Beach, California; Port of Long Beach

Senior Accountant, Cleveland, Ohio; Port of Cleveland

Director of Business Development, Riviera Beach, Florida; Port of Palm Beach

Industrial Development Manager (Project Manager), Cincinnati, Ohio; The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority

Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts; Massachusetts Maritime Academy