Shippers Transport Express, an affiliate of the stevedoring firm SSA Marine, has obtained a long-term lease on land it uses as a dray-off yard in the Port of Oakland.
The port’s commissioners approved a long-term lease and improvements at a 32-acre site in the port through 2033 with Shippers Transport Express. The property is located less than a mile from the Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT), the largest in the Port of Oakland, which is operated by SSA Marine.
The port said Shippers Transport Express drays containers from the container terminal to the less-crowded off-dock pickup point and say it “is essential in speeding import cargo to final destinations domestically.”
John Driscoll, Port of Oakland maritime director, said, “Shippers Transport Express hauls 400 loaded import containers off the terminal every night. That frees up space at the terminal for additional cargo and makes it easy to collect those containers for delivery.”
The firm transports import containers away from OICT, where 25 ships a week load and unload cargo. It parks the boxes on chassis one mile away so truckers can pick them up quickly day or night.
The port says truckers picking up containers at the off-dock yard can do so in 15 minutes or less, compared to approximately 75 minutes at the terminal.
“Import relocations are part of Oakland’s strategy to hasten cargo flow,” the port said. “Other elements include night gates for truckers to ease daytime crowding and appointment systems for cargo pickup. The strategy has cut significantly into truck driver transaction times that once extended beyond two hours.”
The port said rent for the Shippers Transport Express property would average $4 million annually. The port will spend $7 million paving the land for container parking.
Shippers Transport Express also is participating in a California Air Resources Board grant and will obtain 10 Class 8 zero-emission drayage trucks for its operations. The port will install 10 truck charging stations at STE’s premises.