The port commission addresses L.A. discussion agreement, chassis, dock fees and empty container yard.
The Port of Long Beach is quickly moving forward with several proposed solutions to the congestion issues griping its marine terminals and cargo interests.
The Board of Harbor Commissioners on Monday approved three measures to relieve congestion, and the port authority announced that a new, temporary depot for empty containers is scheduled to open Dec. 29.
First, commissioners gave the green light to file permission with the Federal Maritime Commission to form a discussion agreement with its neighbor, the Port of Los Angeles. The idea, first broached in September, is for the ports to improve their competitiveness by jointly addressing issues common to both of them, such as truck turn times, gate hours of operation, rail operations, chassis, vessel calls, and the PierPass traffic mitigation fee.
The Los Angeles Harbor Commission earlier this month approved filing a petition with the FMC to discuss operational issues. The FMC could grant the ports immunity from anti-trust laws that would otherwise prohibit the two ports from collaborating.
In other business, the Long Beach board authorized the release of a request for proposals for the creation of an in-house, emergency fleet of chassis for release to the market during peak periods.
Limited chassis availability is one of the prime factors behind long truck queues and delays receiving or delivering containers at the yards. Truck delays at the ports result in cargo owners receiving late shipments at their warehouses. The ability of shuttle drivers to find roadworthy chassis near the port and terminals’ ability to service them when they arrive have been strained by the recent advent of much larger container vessels that drop thousands of metal shipping boxes in one concentrated period. The situation is compounded by vessels operating on behalf of weekly alliances calling at different terminals rather than maintaining a consistent home base, which means extra truck trips and delays to relocate chassis and other equipment in different locations than the one where the ship is being serviced. Demand for chassis is high now because retailers have heavy orders of import containers to stock up for the holiday shopping season.
The port authority plans to purchase, maintain and manage the “peak chassis pool” with the help of an outside vendor.
The commission also gave preliminary approval to a cap of four days for dockage fees charged by the port to ships at berth. Delays in cargo movement have forced ships to stay at berth longer and pay higher fees. The port authority said it would lose an estimated $150,000 in fees by allowing longer stays without additional fees during stays between Dec. 1 and March 31.
In late October, the Port of Long Beach gave shippers a similar break by granting extra free time during a heavy two-week period so they could pick up containers stuck at terminals without being assessed a storage fee.
The port authority also said that its temporary empty container depot on Pier S will open for business on Dec. 29, allowing truckers space to unload empty containers for $5 per day and free up their bare chassis to pick up cargo. The 30-acre storage facility will remain open until the end of March.
The facility is being operated by Pasha Stevedoring and Terminals.
The empty container yard is intended to free up precious space within terminals for loaded containers and alleviate the shortage of chassis by allowing drivers to drop empties on their way to retrieve loaded import boxes at a terminal. Many terminals are telling drivers that they can’t come in their facilities with empties.
Port officials initially tried to launch the empty yard by early December.
“Separately, we’re all working on solutions,” Jon Slangerup, the Port of Long Beach’s chief executive, said in a statement. “But these are systemic problems that can only be solved by bringing all the parties together, and agreeing on long-term, integrated solutions throughout the supply chain.”
Long Beach takes additional anti-congestion measures
