Drayage

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission is looking whether a program designed to alleviate congestion by encouraging shippers to move cargo during nontraditional hours at Los Angeles-Long Beach isn’t delivering better service in exchange for higher fees.

An industry group seeking ways to improve performance of the Port of New York and New Jersey has issued 23 recommendations covering chassis, trucking, communication, performance indicators, and more.

The Port of Virginia has launched its Navis N4 terminal operating system at Norfolk International Terminals two weeks ahead of the scheduled July 4 start date.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission wants to ease congestion at ports and is considering hosting a forum for terminal operators and drayage drivers to discuss how to speed the movement of containerized goods at the gates.

Truck drivers in Vancouver who suspect that they are being paid less than the minimum rate established by the government can now voice their complaints via a hotline established by the port authority and the British Columbia transportation ministry.

Harbor trucking interests at Port Metro Vancouver are working with port and government transport officials to prevent driver unrest from escalating into another damaging strike at Canada’s largest port.

The Canadian government is contributing C$3 million to a new project that aims to reduce trucker wait times at Port Metro Vancouver.

Direct ChassisLink Inc. plans on July 1 to launch a program to provide emergency road service to truckers using DCLI chassis that aren’t in cooperative pools.

APM Terminals’ management in India’s Port of Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva) is asking shipping lines and agents to speed removal of import containers to ease congestion at the terminal.

The Manila daytime truck ban that was suspended to clear containers choking the Philippine port for the World Economic Forum East Asia summit last month is back in force, but with a slight modification.

Port Metro Vancouver is capitalizing on a lull in cargo activity before the peak-shipping season begins this summer to implement key aspects of the most ambitious effort in North America to improve truck turn times.

An industry committee tackling congestion and other problems at the Port of New York and New Jersey is close to agreement on recommendations, but one potential solution — an appointment system for drayage drivers — faces stiff opposition from motor carriers.

PierPass Inc. announced today that over the coming year President and CEO Bruce Wargo will transition to the position of chairman, and a search will be conducted for a new president.

A picket line established by independent truck drivers briefly shut down a container terminal at the Port of Long Beach today, but the impact was confined to one facility and was unlikely to result in terminal closures elsewhere in the harbor.

A New Jersey state senator has introduced an industry-supported bill to clarify port drivers’ status as independent contractors. The bill is a counterpoint to Teamsters-backed legislation seeking to reclassify the drivers as company employees.

A planned 48-hour protest by truckers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is set for Monday though it’s unclear whether marine operations at the United States’ largest container port complex will be affected.

The Port of Virginia has set a schedule for an appointment system aimed at improving truck turn times at Norfolk International Terminals.

The Port of Oakland has come a long way from last summer, when harbor truckers disrupted the port through sporadic work stoppages protesting new clean-truck rules. But based on recent comments from truckers it still has plenty of work to do to improve turn times in the harbor.

Truck drivers have been back on the job for about one week now at Port Metro Vancouver, but Canada’s largest port remains quite congested, and moving containers into and out of the harbor is a chore.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Long truck lines and excessive delays at marine terminal threaten present and future growth at the Southern California ports, a trucking association official said today at the annual Pulse of the Ports meeting in Long Beach.

NEWPORT, R.I. — With a shortage of chassis a major contributor to gridlock at the Port of New York and New Jersey this winter, the idea of a portwide chassis pool is gaining traction as one possible element in an overall solution to the port’s growing congestion issues.

Port Metro Vancouver is confident that the revised 14-point action plan that convinced truck drivers in late March to end their four-week strike will establish the framework for a long-term solution to the port’s frustrating drayage problems.

Pricing for drayage is like many other aspects of the business — chaotic.

Joe Lozano bid goodbye to port drayage work in February after seven years of hauling containers to and from New York-New Jersey marine terminals. He hasn’t regretted his decision.

Teamsters union officials are hailing a National Labor Relations Board district office’s ruling as a breakthrough in their effort to prove port drayage drivers should be classified as company employees.

Drayage is a fragmented industry composed of thousands of small carriers, with a limited number of larger players. That could change as barriers to entry for owner-operators rise and the number of qualified truck drivers drops.

With the spring retail season at hand, the U.S. economy showing signs of accelerating and the import peak season six months away, there’s growing concern that shippers and their supply chains will feel the impact unless systemic problems with how containers flow from ships through ports to inland destinations are addressed.

Striking truck drivers late yesterday reached an agreement with Port Metro Vancouver, the federal government of Canada and the provincial government of British Columbia...

The provincial government of British Columbia was making progress today on implementing a back-to-work bill designed to end a crippling truckers’ strike that is now in its fourth week at Port Metro Vancouver.

Truck traffic at Port Metro Vancouver continued to increase over the weekend, but still remained below normal as the maritime community anticipated introduction of back-to-work legislation today...

The Teamsters union said today that a settlement agreement announced by Region 21 of the National Labor Relations Board will open the door to drivers at Pacific 9 Transportation in Southern California to organize a union at the harbor trucking company.

Truck traffic at Port Metro Vancouver today approached 40 percent of normal, which is the highest level reached since the strike by union and non-union drivers began three weeks ago, according to a port spokesman.

A warning by the president of Port Metro Vancouver to striking truckers to report to work today or risk losing the license that allows them to perform harbor work did not have the desired effect.

With few signs of striking truckers and Port Metro Vancouver reaching a deal, the provincial government of British Columbia said it will introduce back-to-work legislation as soon as March 24.

In an effort to turn up the heat on striking truckers, Port Metro Vancouver has announced it will not renew port-issued licenses and permits that are set to expire soon...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says cargo diverted to U.S. Pacific Northwest ports because of the truck driver strike in Vancouver, British Columbia...

Port Metro Vancouver edged closer today to suspending and possibly revoking the licenses of the striking truck drivers who are crippling commerce at Canada’s largest port.