Peter T. Leach, Senior Editor | Feb 02, 2012 8:33AM EST
OOCL plans to quit providing chassis for the drayage of import and export containers at facilities in the New York City metropolitan area and in Rochester, N.Y. as of April 1.
The announcement Thursday is the next step in OOCL’s phased withdrawal from the chassis business in the U.S. Last Sept. 1 the Hong Kong-based carrier stopped providing chassis at six additional ports and inland locations in the East and Midwest, including the Port of Charleston, S.C.
The Port of New York is the largest port in which OOCL has pulled out of the chassis business. Most other major ocean carriers have also been getting out of the long-standing business of providing chassis for merchant haulage at U.S. ports and inland terminals.
As of April 1, OOCL said all motor carriers, either working as suppliers for OOCL or OOCL customers, must provide chassis for these shipments. The carrier said truckers should bill chassis usage fees directly to their customers.
OOCL recommended that motor carriers use Flexi-Van if they plan on renting or leasing chassis at these two New York locations, and encouraged them “to execute interchange agreements with chassis providers as soon as possible to ensure a smooth transition.”
-- Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @petertleach.
