Post by greeneyes on Jun 29, 2010 9:03:27 GMT -5
Does Bumpy Road To Recovery Include Port Meltdown?
06/28/2010
Frustrated trucking executives warned Tuesday that the Los Angeles-Long Beach harbor area may be facing gridlock later this summer if nothing is done to head it off. The warnings came at a tumultuous Harbor Transportation Club dinner meeting in Long Beach, where representatives of the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach were pelted with questions about what the ports planned to do. The trucking company folks complained about long lines at terminal gates resulting in long turn times for truck drivers to pick up and deliver their loads. They also warned that although the fleet of trucks that service the two ports is cleaner, it is also considerably smaller - down from about 16,000 before the ports instituted their Clean Truck Programs to about 7,500 trucks today.
Will that be enough to handle the rising volume of containers coming through the two ports? The trucking folks say the answer is that it won't be unless the port and the terminal operators do something to shorten the turn-time for drivers at the terminal. The same issues are being raised at other gateways as well.
Thursday's meeting started with the five-member industry panel confirming that the volume of cargo is finally bounding back after a long slide during the recent global recession. Port of Long Beach marketing manager Ken Uriu and Port of Los Angeles marketing director Mike DiBernardo noted that both ports are seeing a double-digit increase. Although that growth could slow down later in the year, it is expected to continue, Uriu said.
Alan Baer, president of the NVOCC Ocean World Lines, said he is seeing a return of business cast against some capacity restraints and equipment shortages. He said if shipping lines decide to stop the slow-steaming policy adopted during the recession to cut fuel costs and bring idle ships back into operation it will ease some of the equipment shortages.
Chad Lindsay, Southern California vice president of the Pacific Maritime Association, said the jobs are coming back to the ports. He noted that some of the older ILWU members had decided to retire during the recession since they could make almost as much money being retired as they were working three or four days a week.
Bob Massey, vice president of Dependable Companies, raised concerns, however, that there would be enough trucks and drivers to handle the anticipated increase in cargo.
Although the industry panel assembled for the event included five members, it was the two port representatives, Uriu and DiBernardo, who ended up being grilled by HTC members.
Both Uriu and DiBernardo noted that the increase in cargo is allowing terminals to hire more dockworkers and will result in more efficient operations. They also noted that the ports do not operate terminals or trucking lines but lease the terminals to tenants to operate.
Bruce Wargo, president of PierPass, represents terminal operators. In an interview later in the week, he said the complaints being voiced by the trucking executives were "unfortunate." Although he acknowledged that there are sometimes long truck lines at the terminals, those lines tend to be at certain times of the day, when all the truckers show up at once and expect premium service. At other times of the day, the gates are mostly clear and the turn-times short, he said.
The recession has been tough for everybody, Wargo said. The terminals are second only to the ports in their investment in port terminals.
"They have a lot at stake. Last year was an unbelievably bad year. Nobody had ever seen such a tough year," he said. "We shouldn't be too surprised that some are taking a cautious route back."
The terminal operators have been working on a port-wide appointment system that is expected to be rolled out over the next few months. In fact, they have been meeting with trucking executives at invitation-only meetings to unveil those plans. Truckers at the HTC meeting - including panelist Bob Massey - remain skeptical that such a plan will work.
-- The Cunningham Report
06/28/2010
Frustrated trucking executives warned Tuesday that the Los Angeles-Long Beach harbor area may be facing gridlock later this summer if nothing is done to head it off. The warnings came at a tumultuous Harbor Transportation Club dinner meeting in Long Beach, where representatives of the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach were pelted with questions about what the ports planned to do. The trucking company folks complained about long lines at terminal gates resulting in long turn times for truck drivers to pick up and deliver their loads. They also warned that although the fleet of trucks that service the two ports is cleaner, it is also considerably smaller - down from about 16,000 before the ports instituted their Clean Truck Programs to about 7,500 trucks today.
Will that be enough to handle the rising volume of containers coming through the two ports? The trucking folks say the answer is that it won't be unless the port and the terminal operators do something to shorten the turn-time for drivers at the terminal. The same issues are being raised at other gateways as well.
Thursday's meeting started with the five-member industry panel confirming that the volume of cargo is finally bounding back after a long slide during the recent global recession. Port of Long Beach marketing manager Ken Uriu and Port of Los Angeles marketing director Mike DiBernardo noted that both ports are seeing a double-digit increase. Although that growth could slow down later in the year, it is expected to continue, Uriu said.
Alan Baer, president of the NVOCC Ocean World Lines, said he is seeing a return of business cast against some capacity restraints and equipment shortages. He said if shipping lines decide to stop the slow-steaming policy adopted during the recession to cut fuel costs and bring idle ships back into operation it will ease some of the equipment shortages.
Chad Lindsay, Southern California vice president of the Pacific Maritime Association, said the jobs are coming back to the ports. He noted that some of the older ILWU members had decided to retire during the recession since they could make almost as much money being retired as they were working three or four days a week.
Bob Massey, vice president of Dependable Companies, raised concerns, however, that there would be enough trucks and drivers to handle the anticipated increase in cargo.
Although the industry panel assembled for the event included five members, it was the two port representatives, Uriu and DiBernardo, who ended up being grilled by HTC members.
Both Uriu and DiBernardo noted that the increase in cargo is allowing terminals to hire more dockworkers and will result in more efficient operations. They also noted that the ports do not operate terminals or trucking lines but lease the terminals to tenants to operate.
Bruce Wargo, president of PierPass, represents terminal operators. In an interview later in the week, he said the complaints being voiced by the trucking executives were "unfortunate." Although he acknowledged that there are sometimes long truck lines at the terminals, those lines tend to be at certain times of the day, when all the truckers show up at once and expect premium service. At other times of the day, the gates are mostly clear and the turn-times short, he said.
The recession has been tough for everybody, Wargo said. The terminals are second only to the ports in their investment in port terminals.
"They have a lot at stake. Last year was an unbelievably bad year. Nobody had ever seen such a tough year," he said. "We shouldn't be too surprised that some are taking a cautious route back."
The terminal operators have been working on a port-wide appointment system that is expected to be rolled out over the next few months. In fact, they have been meeting with trucking executives at invitation-only meetings to unveil those plans. Truckers at the HTC meeting - including panelist Bob Massey - remain skeptical that such a plan will work.
-- The Cunningham Report