Competition dispute at Philly’s port | Morning Newsletter

Good morning and welcome to Sunday.

Did you get to see some snow this time around? The Saturday forecast wasn’t a complete bust, Tony Wood notes in his latest report, but the amounts didn’t quite measure up to the warnings around Philly. As he puts it, maybe those computers are only human after all. See how much snow fell across the region, and enjoy the sunshine today, with a high near 41 and a breeze coming from the southwest.

The Port of Philadelphia has been booming in recent years, progress that has been driven by state investment and the efforts of Holt Logistics. The South Jersey-based, family-owned company operates Philly’s largest terminal, the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, and has held the lease there for more than 30 years.

But as the port grows, some in the logistics industry are concerned that Holt is getting too big. Our lead story looks into claims of anticompetitive conduct at the commercial hub, and how Holt has cultivated political ties in Harrisburg to bolster the port.

— Paola Pérez (@pdesiperez, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

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A key driver behind growth at Philly’s port has been Holt Logistics, which operates terminals on both sides of the Delaware River. In just the last decade, Holt says its companies have invested more than $200 million to support Philly port operations. Cargo units have almost doubled since 2016.

But as the commercial hub grows, so do concerns that Holt will gain monopoly power as a result of what some claim to be anticompetitive business practices in violation of federal law.

Why this matters: Ocean shipping is a key part of the U.S. economy. Consumer goods rely on maritime supply chains, making maritime terminal operators major gatekeepers to commerce. They are bound to the Shipping Act, and face a higher obligation not to engage in conduct that could undermine competition.

Some logistics executives say Holt is offering services that go beyond a terminal operator’s core role of loading and unloading ships — specifically, its brokerage that connects shippers with trucking companies. Trucking companies say Holt bundles services to shippers, offering rates they can’t match.

As a result, truckers who move the cargo from the docks say they’ve lost business to Holt. They warn that if the state agency that governs the port doesn’t take action, truckers will go out of business, and ultimately lead to an increase in prices for shippers down the supply chain.

In total, four trucking companies told The Inquirer they’ve lost business to Holt.

Notable quote: “What’s being done here in Philadelphia is not part of the standard operating procedures of a marine terminal operator,” said Mike Hellam, who worked with ports around the country as an agent recruiter for national trucking company Evans Delivery before starting his own trucking business. Hellam, who says he lost business to Holt, added: “They are actually maintaining control over who handles the trucking and transportation portions.”

Truckers say their frustration is exacerbated by Holt being the beneficiary of the millions of dollars in investment from Harrisburg. Since 2016, Pennsylvania has invested more than half a billion dollars in the port.

Federal regulators are looking into these allegations. In a Feb. 8 email reviewed by The Inquirer, a senior investigator for the Federal Maritime Commission wrote to one trucking company that the agency is reviewing information and documents, and civil trial lawyers have been assigned to the investigation.

Continue reading for more on truckers raising alarms about “unfair competition” subsidized by taxpayers at Philly’s port, plus the Holt company’s side of the story.

This former MMA fighter has bet his career on it.

Chris Wing sold his Bensalem martial arts gym and traded a life of crippling calf kicks and elbow strikes to save rusty cast-iron skillets with layers of generational gunk on them. Now, he goes by Cast Iron Chris.

He restores anything cast iron for customers, posting restoration videos from his basement lab and kitchen for his nearly 600,000-plus followers on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. He’ll buy old cast iron and flip it, too.

And for all the lore and myths surrounding cast iron care, Wing has a controversial take on the most popular one up for debate: Soap is safe for cast iron.

In his own words: “It drives me crazy,” Wing said. Cast-iron owners avoid soap to keep rust at bay, but Wing said the biggest mistake they make is putting them away wet. “Not drying them enough will be a huge mistake.”

Keep reading for more on how Wing found his new passion, and why he says he’d put his work up “against anyone else in the world.”

Solo Philly renters pay a “singles tax” that costs them thousands. (On the bright side, the luxury of living alone is still less than in many other big cities and in the country as a whole.)

How much more a year do solo renters pay for a one-bedroom apartment in the city?

A) $4,620

B) $5,390

C) $6,185

D) $7,125

Think you know? Check your answer.

Hint: Paul Giamatti’s character in this 2023 film smells like fish. (FYI: It’s a real condition, and for decades, a Philadelphia scientist was one of the world’s leading experts.)

HOVERED SLOTH

Email us if you know the answer. We’ll select a reader at random to shout out here. Cheers to Hillel Lieberman who correctly guessed Friday’s answer: Insomnia Cookies. Send us your own original anagram to unscramble if you’d like.

🎶 For today’s Sunday track, we’re listening to: “Spring is coming / With a strawberry in the mouth.”

👋🏽 Time to have some cafecito and greet the sun. Thanks for starting your morning with me. See you next week.