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Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, seaport officials on the West Coast, International Longshore and Warehouse Union negotiators and leaders with the Pacific Maritime Association are talking optimistically that a long-term contract with workers can be negotiated this summer.

One day after announcing the Port of Los Angeles will begin operating 24/7, port officials said they were working feverishly to get ready for what promises to be a busy stretch.

More than 60 containerships sat in San Pedro Bay on Feb. 18, at the entrance to the sprawling ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The vessels are waiting for a slot to sail into those facilities to begin unloading their cargo and then start the nearly two-week trip back to China.

The nation’s ports continued their breakneck pace in November as imported products arrived and unloaded at a record or near-record rate at facilities on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

Several of the nation’s most prominent ports felt the impact of the trade war between the United States and China as 2019 comes to a close, just as the Trump administration struck an initial trade agreement with China that is due to be signed sometime in 2020.

An association representing oceangoing ships is suing the Port of Astoria in Oregon over its $300 fee for pier maintenance.

An industry that saw dramatic growth in the 10 years before Donald Trump became president is now concerned his administration’s trade tussle with China, and the lack of a deal with Japan, will cut future growth short.

Many of the nation’s ports continue to see growth in import and export activity, as retailers gear up for what is expected to be a strong fourth quarter and holiday shopping season.

WASHINGTON — Port authorities, trucking companies and shippers are hopeful that the infrastructure bill to be debated in Congress will fund solutions to alleviate congestion in the ocean container freight industry, panelists said Jan. 9 at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting here.

Real estate prices to build distribution centers near major marine ports and intermodal ramps jumped double-digits in 2017, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE, as demand outstrips supply due to a retail supply chain increasingly tied to e-commerce and speed.