On October 20, WSSA members had the opportunity to visit the Port of NY-NJ, the largest port complex on the East Coast. Frank Capo, SVP Commercial at Maher Terminals, opened the day with an overview of terminal operations from Maher’s top-floor board room.

Alison Leavitt, Managing Director of WSSA, followed with a market and policy update. She covered the Section 301 tariffs, the standoff with Canada, CBP’s new focus on enforcement, and the FMC’s growing role. She was then joined by Victor Owen Schwartz of VOS Selections, lead plaintiff in the IEEPA tariff case that won at the Supreme Court. Victor encouraged members to share their stories with Congress.

Tony Nogueras and Nicole Kartchner of Alliance International explained how importers can use duty drawback to recover federal excise tax, duties, and tariffs. Next, the Port Authority’s Amanda Valdez and JP Richer gave an update on port volumes, rail capacity, and the channel deepening project. Noemi Jenkins of CBP then answered questions about the rise in container exams.

Alan Murphy, CEO of Sea-Intelligence, closed it out and gave the keynote on the global market. A record vessel orderbook points to years of oversupply, and Alan explained why rates on the transatlantic have stayed high. The day ended with a group tour of the port. Thank you to the Port Authority of NY & NJ, Maher Terminals, CBP, and all our speakers. We look forward to our next visit in 2027!