The National Retail Federation, the California Trucking Association Intermodal Conference and the Harbor Trucking Association have proposed a “joint powers authority” to oversee funding of night and weekend terminal operations.
The National Retail Federation, the California Trucking Association Intermodal Conference and the Harbor Trucking Association, which represents Southern California drayage companies, said they would like to see a “joint powers authority” created as part of a “modernization” of evening and weekend “off-peak” operations at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
PierPass, which is a program created by the 13 container terminals at the two ports through their West Coast Martine Terminal Operators Agreement (WCMTOA), currently funds off-peak operations that allow trucks to move cargo in and out of the terminals at night and on Saturday by collecting a “traffic mitigation fee” from importers and exporters moving containers on and off the docks between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. PierPass said that fee is used to partially offset the cost of the extend hours or “gates.”
“The single biggest issue that all stakeholders continue to observe with the current Off-Peak Program (OPP) is the structure of governance and administration of the program, the three groups said in a letter presented at the “extended gates workshop” last week, which was organized by PierPass. “We believe this issue needs to be addressed first and foremost. After much discussion and deliberation, we remain convinced that a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) constructed in the same vein as the Alameda Corridor Transit Authority (ACTA) is the best and most important path forward in the construction of a new program. Without this fundamental change, any modernizations to the program would constitute and exercise in futility.”
The groups also said, “The current OPP lacks the necessary transparency to understand whether or not the funds are being collected and distributed in a fair and proper manner.
“Moving forward, there needs to be more transparency on the handling of funds,” the groups added. “Currently, there is ample concern over the type of labor that is being ordered for the second shift, as well as questions about the possible reduction of cost on the first shift as a result of second shift operations. There should be visibility into the cost incurred by individual terminals and the allocation of funds to help offset those costs.”
Their letter complained about the amount of time it takes for trucks to move in and out of terminals and alleged that terminals have financial incentives to maintain an inefficient terminal operation. “Many of the additional costs, such as demurrage, that can result in a profit center for terminals are made on inefficiencies and cause additional cost to BCOs,” the truckers and retailers said. “Many marine terminals have made a conscious decision to reduce their investment in labor resulting in inadequate resources to service trucks, specifically on the second shift.
“In fact, the entire premise of most appointment systems is to meter the amount of truck traffic that enters a terminal. This in turn greatly depletes the ability to deliver the optimum levels of cargo in the amount during the available allotted free days and have been used to drive cargo delivery to the first shift when the current onerous PierPass fee is assessed. We need a program that incentivizes the efficient delivery of cargo to maximize throughput and take away stress from the fragile supply chain.”
The groups also expressed how beneficial cargo owners and licensed motor carriers (LMCs) are at the mercy of individual terminals as to off-peak gate closures that are often sporadic and without proper notice.
In addition, the groups said that many of the terminals that require truckers to have appointments to pick-up cargo “routinely limit the availability of appointments during the second shift, forcing them to make appointments on the first shift and pay the PierPass fee.”
The truckers and retailers said a new off-peak program needs to use modern technology so that it is managed through a common portal system, and they intend to continue collaborating with other stakeholders and interested agencies on these issues, including the Federal Maritime Commission.
Truckers, retailers want authority to oversee PierPass program
