Port of Long Beach

The new Harbor Trucking Association-Milestone pool at LA-LB is improving truck turn times and round-the-clock access to a variety of chassis types during the current peak season.

While these two related issues are present to various degrees at other gateways, the problems are magnified in the largest US port complex, where peak-season volumes now being handled at the 12 container terminals are contributing to an annual volume of more than 16 million TEU.

Justice for Port Drivers, a Teamsters-sponsored group that has promoted picketing and other job actions over the past five years, will participate in job actions at the ports, two motor carrier facilities, warehouses, and rail yards beginning Monday morning.

By improving connectivity in the harbor through more on-dock rail, smoother hand-offs from the vessel to rail, and more timely and accurate data flow, West Coast ports will offer shippers a more attractive package for shipping discretionary cargo through their gateways to the eastern half of the United States, Los Angeles and Long Beach port executives agree.

As the US chassis sector evolves, no one method of operation fits all ports/regions, but one appears to offer truckers an advantage.

The key to the top-tier ports’ dominant share of Asian imports is that ocean carriers have chosen the four gateways as the first call inbound on their services from Asia. And that ensures that retailers and other large importers receive what they value most.

The two candidates standing for election appear to have identified the correct formula concerning two leadership factors.

Yusen Terminals in Los Angeles, where Union Pacific is adjusting to a consolidation of shipments from the three former lines that formed the Ocean Network, is a major focus of the railroad’s attention.

Beneficial cargo owners and truckers in Southern California have experienced only spot chassis shortages, and given current import projections, this condition should continue through the peak season. However, store-door contracts that designate the use of specific intermodal equipment provider chassis are still an issue, and this condition could worsen if non-vessel operating common carriers expand their use of door contracts with chassis clauses.

As with many other consumer industries, it’s not that the toy industry pie is shrinking, it’s merely being split differently.

Importers who pick up cargo during the day favor the prospective flat fee structure, as they would pay less. Importers who pick up cargo at night, who currently don’t pay the traffic mitigation fee (TMF), and would pay more, oppose the new PierPass 2.0 program. Meanwhile, terminals argue they can’t operate extended gates without compensation, and beneficial cargo owners and truckers want greater terminal TMF transparency.

It is an ambitious goal, but port officials, environmental experts, and other stakeholders at a summit offered substantial evidence that the commercially-feasible, zero-emissions, cargo-handling system will arrive sooner than many expect.

The goal of the 12 terminal operators at LA-LB is to promote uniformity for drayage operators and more efficient service for beneficial cargo owners in PierPass 2.0 via a common set of rules for trucker appointments and peel-off operations.

Consistently good truck turn times and container dwell times since peak season 2017 have beneficial cargo owners who ship through Los Angeles-Long Beach optimistic that most of the dozen terminals will handle their shipments with a minimum of congestion issues this summer and autumn.

Sponsored: JOC Senior Content Editor Alessandra Barrett and Port of Long Beach Chief Commercial and Operations Officer Noel Hacegaba dive into the implications of technology for ports and the supply chain as a whole.

Confirming to Alphaliner that it is discussing US terminal assets with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States officials, Cosco, a China government-backed carrier, said it is confident the deal will pass the US review and that the deal’s June 30 deadline will be met.

Beneficial cargo owners and truckers in Los Angeles may experience improved cargo velocity and reduced gate congestion if a large container drayoff facility to be piloted at the Port of Los Angeles proves to be successful.