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Los Angeles / Long Beach Terminal Operators Move Quickly to Recover From Congestion

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PierPass April News and Updates

Container throughput surged in March at marine terminals at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Compared to February, 75% more containers moved through the terminal truck gates in March during the OffPeak shifts (Monday through Friday nights and Saturday) and Exempt shifts (Saturday night and Sunday). Container moves during Peak shifts (Monday through Friday daytimes) jumped 54% in March over February.

Average in-terminal turn time in March 2015:
51.5 minutes day shift
54.5 minutes night shift

For comparison, the average in-terminal turn time in February 2015 was 49.6 minutes for the day shift and 53.0 minutes for the night shift.

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Truck activity information is derived from RFID data, and excludes lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors. For more information about turn times and how we measure them, please see our Q&A at http://goo.gl/PiOjBp.

Average daily moves per truck for frequent callers* in March:
5 or moves per day: 8%
4 moves per day: 15%
3 moves per day: 29%
2 moves per day: 31%
1 move per day: 17%

*The ports define frequent callers as trucks making one or more moves per weekday. Average moves per day by frequent callers tells us how many moves a truck can make if it is working every day. In March, 23% of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Gate moves during Peak and OffPeak/exempt shifts:
Total Peak gate moves: 374,007 (55%)
Total OffPeak/Exempt gate moves: 306,187 (45%)

A gate move occurs when a container enters or leaves a marine terminal via the truck gates. Peak shifts are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. OffPeak shifts are Monday through Friday, 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday night and Sunday shifts, which are not regularly scheduled, are considered “exempt.”

To learn what it takes for a truck to drop off or pick up a container at a marine terminal, please see http://youtu.be/P9IJN1yIIJ4.

PierPass March News and Updates

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PierPass Monthly Transaction Data  

Each month we provide a summary of the previous month’s transaction data from marine terminal operators (MTOs) at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Below please find data from the month of February 2015.

Average in-terminal turn time in February 2015:
49.6 minutes day shift
53.0 minutes night shift

For comparison, the average in-terminal turn time in January 2015 was 60.9 minutes for the day shift and 55.8 minutes for the night shift.

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Truck activity information is derived from RFID data, and excludes lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors. For more information about turn times and how we measure them, please see our Q&A at http://goo.gl/PiOjBp.

Average daily moves per truck for frequent callers* in February:
5 or moves per day: 3%
4 moves per day: 7%
3 moves per day: 22%
2 moves per day: 43%
1 move per day: 25%

*The ports define frequent callers as trucks making one or more moves per weekday. Average moves per day by frequent callers tells us how many moves a truck can make if it is working every day. In February, 10% of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Gate moves during Peak and OffPeak/exempt shifts:
Total Peak gate moves: 242,181 (58%)
Total OffPeak/Exempt gate moves: 175,514 (42%)

A gate move occurs when a container enters or leaves a marine terminal via the truck gates. Peak shifts are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. OffPeak shifts are Monday through Friday, 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday night and Sunday shifts, which are not regularly scheduled, are considered “exempt.”

Note: Many terminals were closed for one or both shifts on Feb. 12 for the Lincoln’s Birthday holiday and on Feb. 15 for the Washington’s Birthday holiday.

To learn what it takes for a truck to drop off or pick up a container at a marine terminal, please see http://youtu.be/P9IJN1yIIJ4.

With Labor and Chassis Issues Addressed, PierPass Member Terminals Increase Throughput 46% in First Half of March

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LONG BEACH, Calif., March 18, 2015 —In the wake of a tentative labor deal announced Feb. 20 and the formation of a port-wide chassis pool on March 1, marine terminals at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach moved 46% more cargo containers by truck during the first half of March compared with the same period in February, PierPass Inc. said today.

From March 2 through March 15, nearly 303,000 import and export containers moved by truck into or out of the terminals, compared to nearly 207,000 from Feb. 2 through Feb. 15, according to gate transaction data collected by PierPass. These include containers moved during day shifts and the OffPeak shifts managed by PierPass on nights and Saturdays. The OffPeak program diverts about half of port truck trips out of Monday-through-Friday daytime traffic while roughly doubling the capacity of the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.

According to the Marine Exchange of Southern California, there were 30 ships waiting to be unloaded at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports on Monday March 16, down from 36 on Feb. 26.

“The terminals are intensely focused on returning to normal operations as quickly as possible,” said John Cushing, president of PierPass, which represents the 13 container terminals at the two adjacent ports. “While much work remains to be done, we can report progress in accelerating cargo movement by mid- March.”

PierPass today also reported some progress in reducing transaction times for trucks at the terminals. Average truck turn times dropped during the month of February (most of which fell before the Feb. 20 labor agreement) compared with January. It took trucks an average of 49.6 minutes to complete one transaction (picking up or delivering a container) on the Peak (weekday daytime) shift in February, down from 60.9 minutes in January. On OffPeak shifts, turn times in February averaged 53 minutes, down from 55.8 minutes in January.

In another move to reduce the cargo backlog, two terminals have leased additional port-owned land in order to accept empty containers and make more room for imports and exports. A third terminal has leased additional land to where it is bringing loaded containers mounted on chassis ready for truckers to pick up.

Terminal operators continue to work with trucking companies and cargo owners to increase the use of free-flow, sometimes known as peel-off, a practice PierPass has promoted to reduce truck waiting times. Free-flow enables bulk delivery of large groups of containers destined for the same location, typically to a single cargo owner. The terminals pre-stage the containers in a separate stack. The cargo owner then sends a stream of trucks into the terminal and each truck takes the next container in the stack.

“We have been very proactive with different terminal efficiency tools that include our appointment system and peel-off piles,” said Rickey Childs, head of operations for Eagle Marine Services. “We continue to work with the trucking community for increased OffPeak utilization, especially during the second half of the shift when there is minimal truck activity at the gates.”

On March 1, three of the largest chassis leasing companies at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports formed a gray chassis “pool of pools” intended to solve the chassis supply disruption that emerged last year after shipping lines sold their chassis to private leasing companies. The new system makes chassis interchangeable for truckers and terminals. The three leasing companies control about 100,000 chassis in Southern California.

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PierPass February News and Updates

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Overview

On Friday February 20, the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union announced a tentative agreement on a new five-year contract covering workers at all 29 West Coast ports. The agreement, which is subject to ratification by both parties, is expected to allow the terminal operators at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach to resume fully staffed operations and reduce the congestion that spiked during the nine-month labor negotiations.

January truck gate statistics at the two ports reflected high levels of congestion.

PierPass Monthly Transaction Data

Average in-terminal turn time in January 2015:

  • 60.9 minutes day shift
  • 55.8 minutes night shift

For comparison, the average in-terminal turn time in December 2014 was 55.9 minutes for the day shift and 58.4 minutes for the night shift.

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Truck activity information is derived from RFID data, and excludes lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors. For more information about turn times and how we measure them, please see our Q&A at http://goo.gl/PiOjBp.

Average daily moves per truck for frequent callers* in January:

  • 5 or moves per day: 4%
  • 4 moves per day: 10%
  • 3 moves per day: 27%
  • 2 moves per day: 38%
  • 1 move per day: 21%

*The ports define frequent callers as trucks making one or more moves per weekday. Average moves per day by frequent callers tells us how many moves a truck can make if it is working every day. In January, 14 percent of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Gate moves during Peak and OffPeak/exempt shifts:

  • Total Peak gate moves: 307,473 (56%)
  • Total OffPeak/Exempt gate moves: 242,961 (44%)

A gate move occurs when a container enters or leaves a marine terminal via the truck gates. Peak shifts are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. OffPeak shifts are Monday through Friday, 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday night and Sunday shifts, which are not regularly scheduled, are considered “exempt.”

Note: Two terminals were closed during the first shift on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday, and one terminal was also closed during the second shift that day.

To learn what it takes for a truck to drop off or pick up a container at a marine terminal, please see http://youtu.be/P9IJN1yIIJ4.

Customer Service Advisory: YTI Will Suspend Saturday OffPeak Gates Starting March 7

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Dear PierPass Customers,

YTI terminal in the Port of Los Angeles will stop operating Saturday OffPeak gates starting Saturday, March 7, 2015. Gate schedules for all terminals are available at https://www.pierpass.org/offpeak-information/. Please note that the gate schedules change effective Feb. 26 and again effective March 6.

GGS Suspends Saturday OffPeak Gates Starting February 28

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Dear PierPass Customers,

GGS terminal in the Port of Los Angeles will stop operating Saturday OffPeak gates as of Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015. A new gate schedule for all terminals, effective Feb. 26, 2015, has been published and is available at https://www.pierpass.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/RollingSchedule.2.26.15.pdf.

PierPass January News and Updates

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Overview

Unusually high levels of congestion continued in December at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. The ongoing shortage of available chassis continued to slow port operations. This was compounded by reported shortages of skilled labor needed to operate various terminal equipment.

Marine terminal operators worked to reduce the backlogs of containers by running 72 additional gates (shifts open to truck traffic) during the month. The 72 additional gates were a 31% increase over the 233 OffPeak gates originally scheduled for December. The MTOs operated 73 additional gates in September, a 30% increase, 86 additional gates in October, a 33% increase, and 118 additional gates in November, a 55% increase.

PierPass Monthly Transaction Data

After increasing for several months due to the congestion, truck transaction times began to fall in December.

Average in-terminal turn time in December 2014:

  • 55.9 minutes day shift
  • 58.4 minutes night shift

For comparison, the average in-terminal turn time in November 2014 was 58.3 minutes for the day shift and 61.4 minutes for the night shift.

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Truck activity information is derived from RFID data, and excludes lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors. For more information about turn times and how we measure them, please see our Q&A at http://goo.gl/PiOjBp.

Average daily moves per truck for frequent callers* in December:

  • 5 or moves per day: 5%
  • 4 moves per day: 11%
  • 3 moves per day: 28%
  • 2 moves per day: 36%
  • 1 move per day: 20%

*The ports define frequent callers as trucks making one or more moves per weekday. Average moves per day by frequent callers tells us how many moves a truck can make if it is working every day. In December, 16 percent of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Gate moves during Peak and OffPeak/exempt shifts:

  • Total Peak gate moves: 333,879 (55%)
  • Total OffPeak/Exempt gate moves: 271,302 (45%)

A gate move occurs when a container enters or leaves a marine terminal via the truck gates. Peak shifts are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. OffPeak shifts are Monday through Friday, 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday night and Sunday shifts, which are not regularly scheduled, are considered “exempt.”

Note: All terminals were closed on Christmas Day, December 25. Some terminals were also closed for one or both shifts on December 24 and December 31.

To learn what it takes for a truck to drop off or pick up a container at a marine terminal, please see http://youtu.be/P9IJN1yIIJ4.

PierPass December News and Updates

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Overview

The marine terminals at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach continued to experience unusually high congestion during November, and responded by operating 55% more OffPeak truck gates than originally scheduled.

The largest cause of congestion over the past several months has been the shortage of available chassis. This has been compounded by shortages of available longshore labor and truck drivers.

Marine terminal operators (MTOs) continued to work additional shifts in November to alleviate congestion. MTOs operated 118 additional gates (shifts open to truck traffic) in November, a 55% increase over the 213 OffPeak gates originally scheduled for the month. The MTOs operated 73 additional gates in September, a 30% increase, and 86 additional gates in October, a 33% increase.

The MTOs have been spending $3 million per week on additional and unbudgeted costs since September 1 to manage congestion. In addition to adding unscheduled gates and shifts, terminals have been working overtime and through lunch and breaks, and paying truckers to move containers between terminals to load on-dock trains.

PierPass Monthly Transaction Data

The same factors increasing congestion inside the terminals have also driven up truck turn times. Below please find data from November.

Average in-terminal turn time:

  • 58.3 minutes day shift
  • 61.4 minutes night shift
  • Turn times for November include 12 of 13 terminals reporting

For comparison, the average in-terminal turn time in October 2014 was 51.8 minutes for the day shift and 55.5 minutes for the night shift.

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Truck activity information is derived from RFID data, and excludes lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors. For more information about turn times and how we measure them, please see our Q&A at http://goo.gl/PiOjBp.

Average daily moves per truck for frequent callers* in November:

  • 5 or moves per day: 5%
  • 4 moves per day: 10%
  • 3 moves per day: 29%
  • 2 moves per day: 36%
  • 1 move per day: 20%

*The ports define frequent callers as trucks making one or more moves per weekday. Average moves per day by frequent callers tells us how many moves a truck can make if it is working every day. In November, 15 percent of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Gate moves during Peak and OffPeak/exempt shifts:

  • Total Peak gate moves: 369,631 (54%)
  • Total OffPeak/Exempt gate moves: 315,783 (46%)

A gate move occurs when a container enters or leaves a marine terminal via the truck gates. Peak shifts are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. OffPeak shifts are Monday through Friday, 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday night and Sunday shifts, which are not regularly scheduled, are considered “exempt.”

Note: All terminals were closed for the Thanksgiving Day holiday, and for an ILWU meeting on Nov. 6.

To learn what it takes for a truck to drop off or pick up a container at a marine terminal, please see http://youtu.be/P9IJN1yIIJ4.

Terminals Operated 55% More OffPeak and Sunday Truck Gates in November

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Marine Terminal Operators (MTOs) at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in November continued to work additional shifts to alleviate recent congestion. MTOs operated 118 additional gates (shifts open to truck traffic) in November, a 55% increase over the 213 OffPeak gates originally scheduled for the month.

The MTOs have been spending $3 million per week on additional and unbudgeted costs since September 1 to manage congestion. In addition to adding unscheduled gates and shifts, terminals have been working overtime and through lunch and breaks, and paying truckers to move containers between terminals to load on-dock trains.

The terminals have been working with industry partners to relieve a surge in congestion caused by a disruption in chassis availability and other factors.

The MTOs operated 73 additional gates in September, a 30% increase, and 86 additional gates in October, a 33% increase. These additional gates include both OffPeak shifts (Monday through Saturday nights and Saturday daytime) and Sunday shifts, which fall outside the OffPeak program. The regular schedule of gate operation is available at https://www.pierpass.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/PierPass-Offpeak-Schedule_10-25-14.pdf. Monthly scheduled totals vary according to the number of business days and holidays in each month. The number of regularly-scheduled OffPeak gates was 245 in September, 258 in October and 213 in November.

PierPass Meets with Federal Maritime Commission and Industry Stakeholders To Address Congestion

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LONG BEACH, Calif., November 17, 2014—PierPass Inc. executives have concluded meetings with the five Federal Maritime Commissioners (including Chairman Mario Cordero) and with FMC staff, briefing them on measures the marine terminal operator (MTO) members of PierPass are taking to address the current congestion issues in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. In a series of meetings late last week in Washington, D.C., PierPass also met with representatives from the National Retail Federation, the National Industrial Transportation League, the Waterfront Coalition, and the Agriculture Transportation Coalition to provide them with these updates.

PierPass Chairman Bruce Wargo and President John Cushing reported that the MTOs have been spending $3 million per week on additional and unbudgeted costs since September 1 to manage congestion. These expenditures include adding unscheduled gates and shifts; working overtime and through lunch and breaks; and paying truckers to move containers between terminals to load on-dock trains. The MTOs operated 73 additional gates (shifts open to truck traffic) in September, a 30% increase compared to the number of scheduled OffPeak gates, and 86 additional gates in October, a 33% increase.

PierPass also shared new initiatives its members are deploying to address chassis availability issues and to expand container delivery options to increase terminal productivity. These initiatives include the Free-Flow Program, which pre-positions large blocks of containers to enable quicker turn times for trucks picking up containers headed for a common destination.

The meetings provided an opportunity for PierPass to discuss recent calls for it to waive its Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF). The TMF offsets part of the cost of running the OffPeak Program, which has essentially doubled the capacity of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach by running regular night and Saturday shifts. Charging the TMF on daytime cargo movement also provides the incentive to use the second shift.

The OffPeak program has successfully balanced the flow of trucks to the ports, which prior to OffPeak’s introduction in 2005 was causing severe daytime congestion on Southern California roads. In the meetings, PierPass cited its concerns that by waiving the TMF, the previous congestion problems would be reintroduced and would exacerbate the current congestion caused by a range of factors including shortages of available chassis.

“The meetings with the FMC were very constructive,” Cushing said. “We also found the meeting with the stakeholder representatives to be productive. Such discussions with a broad array of industry stakeholders, similar to meetings with our own Advisory Committee, help us focus on the real impediments to our common goal, which is to move cargo as quickly and efficiently as possible.”