The new cooperative, dubbed the Open Choice Equipment Agreement – Northeast (OCEA-N) will be a port-wide gray chassis pool servicing major cargo, freight and equipment handling facilities, the chassis providers said in a joint statement.
The North American Chassis Pool Cooperative (NACPC) and New Jersey-based chassis leasing company FlexiVan are establishing a new cooperative chassis pool for the Port of New York and New Jersey.
The pool is expected to commence operations during the first quarter of 2018, FlexiVan and the NACPC jointly announced Dec. 20.
The new cooperative, dubbed the Open Choice Equipment Agreement – Northeast (OCEA-N) will be a port-wide gray chassis pool servicing major cargo, freight and equipment handling facilities in the port complexes of New York and New Jersey. It will be governed by a newly-formed entity known as the NACPC FlexiVan Chassis Pool, LLC, operated by a single pool manager, and will be open to participation and contribution by any other equipment providers that meet the basic contributory requirements, NACPC and FlexiVan said.
Among the requirements by NY/NJ users and stakeholders that OCEA-N is designed to meet are: being a contributory pool that’s open to participation by any qualifying chassis supplier; a fully interoperable chassis fleet with port-wide coverage; and open choice allowing a motor carrier or shipper to negotiate with and select the chassis provider of their choice.
Most pools operate under so-called “box rules,” wherein the ocean carrier dictates the chassis provider for both carrier haulage and merchant haulage moves, even when they’re not responsible for the costs. OCEA-N does not prevent or limit choices, but rather the motor carrier, BCO or other responsible parties are free to select the chassis provider of their choice.
“We believe the Port of NY/NJ and its stakeholders desire a long term chassis solution that facilitates greater operational efficiency, ensures fair competition and lower operating cost to motor carriers,” NACPC President Dave Manning said. “We feel that OCEA-N meets these objectives better than any other current or proposed chassis supply model.”
“Motor carriers can now leverage their business to negotiate more favorable terms and conditions,” Manning continued. “OCEA-N operates with only one condition; if you are responsible for supplying the chassis, you are free to name any participating provider as your supplier.”
“Currently, motor carriers are forced to use privately owned or leased fleets in order to avoid inflated costs; this in turn interferes with port efficiency and work jurisdictions,” FlexiVan Vice President of Pool Operations Stan Portlock explained. “Through competition, the OCEA-N structure allows costs for interoperable pool chassis to be comparable with private fleets.”