Docks Around the Clock
|
| The Ports of Long Beach (pictured) and L.A. receive some 45 percent of all containers shipped to the U.S. To help manage projected 13-percent growth to 14.9 million containers in 2005, the ports' marine terminal operators are launching night trucking from their 61 terminals. Photo courtesy Port of Long Beach. |
| I |
n his 2005 State of the State address, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger joked that under his administration, the state had seen 12 more days of sunshine than the year before his ascent. Whether any of those rays could make it through the tightly packed and backed-up freight in Southern California remained an open question.
Now a little daylight may indeed peek through that congestion — thanks to plans to truck at night.
In early June, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, in a move spearheaded by a group of marine terminal operators calling themselves PierPass, moved to begin an OffPeak trucking program on July 23, 2005, that will double trucking hours to 91 to handle the two ports' 6 million annual truck trips. The new off-peak hours are from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. Monday-Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The catch? PierPass will also assess a daytime peak-hours fee (between 3 a.m. and 6 p.m.) of $40 per loaded TEU (20-foot equivalent unit), or $80 for a 40-foot container, travelling through the ports' 12 international terminals. "The beneficial cargo owners (shippers, consignees, or their agents) are responsible for payment of the fee," stated PierPass. However, there are exceptions: "PierPASS will not assess a fee for empty containers and chassis, domestic containers, or transshipment to other ports. Nor will it assess a fee for intermodal containers that depart or arrive via the Alameda Corridor for import or export, or that pay an ACTA fee."
"The establishment of the July 23 OffPeak launch date is a strong indication of our progress," said PierPASS President and CEO Bruce Wargo. "By using the existing transportation infrastructure more efficiently and shifting traffic out of peak commuting hours, OffPeak is a landmark effort to address chronic port congestion and air quality issues."
The ports needed something: 13 million containers carrying some $218 billion worth of merchandise passed through in 2003, traffic climbed by some 12 percent in 2004 and could climb by as much as 10 percent this year. Eighty percent of that traffic was carried by truck, exacerbated by limited rail capacity out of the region. At the peak of 2004 congestion, more than 90 ships were waiting in and outside the harbors, carrying in their holds the direct evidence of the U.S. trade imbalance with Asia.
"Cities are going to be saying, 'What are these trucks doing on our streets at night?'" said Barry Hibbard, vice president of real estate for Tejon Ranch Co., in an interview earlier in 2005. He says much of the problem stems from residential development that's been allowed to back up to warehouse areas, so that now trucks are "competing for the road with moms and school buses."
But putting aside his vested interest in getting that logistics traffic up to Tejon Ranch, Hibbard sees the cargo moving a lot further north than that, with major shippers and end users like NYK, IKEA, Wal-Mart and others taking big chunks of their volume to Oakland or Tacoma. Meanwhile, he says, "The supply chain issue is now at the forefront of the C-level executive. Years ago, the VP of logistics was not in the boardroom, but today he's interacting with the CFO and CEO, trying to decide 'How do we align our top-line revenue?' "
Now a little daylight may indeed peek through that congestion — thanks to plans to truck at night.
In early June, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, in a move spearheaded by a group of marine terminal operators calling themselves PierPass, moved to begin an OffPeak trucking program on July 23, 2005, that will double trucking hours to 91 to handle the two ports' 6 million annual truck trips. The new off-peak hours are from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. Monday-Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The catch? PierPass will also assess a daytime peak-hours fee (between 3 a.m. and 6 p.m.) of $40 per loaded TEU (20-foot equivalent unit), or $80 for a 40-foot container, travelling through the ports' 12 international terminals. "The beneficial cargo owners (shippers, consignees, or their agents) are responsible for payment of the fee," stated PierPass. However, there are exceptions: "PierPASS will not assess a fee for empty containers and chassis, domestic containers, or transshipment to other ports. Nor will it assess a fee for intermodal containers that depart or arrive via the Alameda Corridor for import or export, or that pay an ACTA fee."
"The establishment of the July 23 OffPeak launch date is a strong indication of our progress," said PierPASS President and CEO Bruce Wargo. "By using the existing transportation infrastructure more efficiently and shifting traffic out of peak commuting hours, OffPeak is a landmark effort to address chronic port congestion and air quality issues."
The ports needed something: 13 million containers carrying some $218 billion worth of merchandise passed through in 2003, traffic climbed by some 12 percent in 2004 and could climb by as much as 10 percent this year. Eighty percent of that traffic was carried by truck, exacerbated by limited rail capacity out of the region. At the peak of 2004 congestion, more than 90 ships were waiting in and outside the harbors, carrying in their holds the direct evidence of the U.S. trade imbalance with Asia.
The Only Way Out Is Through
There seems to be no other way of getting around it. But some doubt the effectiveness of such a plan, as it de-bottlenecks the daytime but clutters up the night.
"Cities are going to be saying, 'What are these trucks doing on our streets at night?'" said Barry Hibbard, vice president of real estate for Tejon Ranch Co., in an interview earlier in 2005. He says much of the problem stems from residential development that's been allowed to back up to warehouse areas, so that now trucks are "competing for the road with moms and school buses."
But putting aside his vested interest in getting that logistics traffic up to Tejon Ranch, Hibbard sees the cargo moving a lot further north than that, with major shippers and end users like NYK, IKEA, Wal-Mart and others taking big chunks of their volume to Oakland or Tacoma. Meanwhile, he says, "The supply chain issue is now at the forefront of the C-level executive. Years ago, the VP of logistics was not in the boardroom, but today he's interacting with the CFO and CEO, trying to decide 'How do we align our top-line revenue?' "
