Tag Archives: Port of Long Beach

Marine Terminal Operators at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to Adjust TMF on August 19

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LONG BEACH, Calif., July 2, 2013 – The West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) today announced an 8.1 percent increase in the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, scheduled to take effect on August 19, 2013. The increase will sustain continued operation of PierPass OffPeak gates amid labor cost increases.

Beginning August 19, the TMF will be increased by $5.00 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) to $66.50 per twenty-foot container or $133.00 per forty-foot container. The current TMF rates are $61.50 and $123.00 respectively.

Since 2011, WCMTOA has been adjusting the TMF annually based on changes in maritime labor costs. In May, the Pacific Maritime Association, which negotiates and administers maritime labor agreements with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), announced an 8.2 percent increase in wages and benefits for the 2013-14 contract year.

The Traffic Mitigation Fee helps pay for the night and Saturday marine terminal shifts created by the PierPass OffPeak program to relieve daytime congestion in and around the ports. It also provides a financial incentive to move cargo during less-congested times. The TMF is charged for non-exempt containers moving during peak hours (Monday through Friday, 3 a.m. to 6 p.m.).

The terminals have operated the OffPeak gates at a loss since the program’s start in 2005, when they doubled the number of shifts per week, spreading the same number of containers over twice the working hours. Cargo volume since 2005 has been flat. The shortfall between TMF revenues and OffPeak gate costs was $66 million in 2012, $55 million in 2011 and $52 million in 2010. For more financial information about the program, please see http://goo.gl/JiTaf.

Before PierPass was created in 2005, the ports and nearby roads were gridlocked, ships were backed up in the harbor unable to unload, and cargo owners suffered long delays in receiving and shipping vital goods. Over the past eight years, PierPass OffPeak gates have grown to handle approximately 55 percent of all container traffic at the ports, accommodated more than 23 million truck transactions, and greatly eased congestion on city streets and nearby freeways during daytime business hours.

“OffPeak is one of a series of programs by port stakeholders that have greatly reduced congestion and air pollution around North America’s busiest port complex,” said Bruce Wargo, president of PierPass, the not-for-profit company that runs the OffPeak program. “The program adds to the tremendous competitive advantage held by the Los Angeles / Long Beach port complex, which has the most concentrated set of assets of any port in the country, has a workforce that’s ready, available and flexible, and has made remarkable strides in mitigating impacts on local communities.”

About PierPass
PierPass is a not-for-profit company created by marine terminal operators at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in 2005 to address multi-terminal issues such as congestion, security and air quality. The West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement (WCMTOA) is filed with the Federal Maritime Commission, and comprises the 13 international MTOs serving the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. For more information, please see www.pierpass.org.

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PierPass June News and Updates

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PierPass Monthly Transaction Data

As part of our monthly newsletters we provide a summary of the latest 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 May 2013.

Truck activity information is derived from RFID data.

Average in-terminal turn time:

  • 37.9 minutes day shift
  • 39.2 minutes night shift
    (Excluding lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets)

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors.  The average in-terminal turn time in April 2013 was 37.4 minutes for the day shift and 37.9 minutes for the night shift.

Frequent callers* average moves per day:

  • 10% trucks 5 or moves per day
  • 18% trucks 4 moves per day
  • 26% trucks 3 moves per day
  • 29% trucks 2 moves per day
  • 17% trucks 1 move per day

*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 May 2013, 28 percent of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Day vs. Night Gates:

  • Average daily number of day gate moves: 14,404
  • Average daily number of night gate moves: 16,640
  • Number of day shifts open: 26
  • Number of night shifts open: 16

The number of unique trucks calling on both ports in May was 9,918.

Note:

  • All terminals were closed on Memorial Day for the first shift, and most were also closed for the second shift.

Marine Terminals at Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports to Power Docked Ships with Electricity by Year-End

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LONG BEACH, Calif., May 21, 2013 – PierPass Inc. today announced that all 13 international cargo terminals at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach will be ready to deliver shore power to ships at berth by the end of this year, an investment that will significantly reduce air pollution in and around the ports.

The infrastructure to supply shore power – also known as cold ironing or Alternative Marine Power (AMP) – is being installed in support of clean air initiatives led by the two ports and the California Air Resources Board (ARB). ARB has mandated that by Jan. 1, 2014, half of all visits by container cargo, refrigerated cargo and cruise vessels must be powered by electricity. The rule applies to fleets making at least 25 visits per year to California ports.

Currently, most ships power themselves while at berth by continuously running on-board auxiliary diesel engines, during visits that typically last about 24 hours. Ships are the single largest source of port-related pollutants including particulate matter, oxides of sulfur and oxides of nitrogen. Shore power cuts air pollution from a ship at berth by 95 percent, according to the Port of Long Beach.

“Terminal operators are working hard to help the ports and ARB implement this important clean air measure,” said Bruce Wargo, president of PierPass. “As part of the ongoing innovations and investments that have made the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach the cleanest and most efficient in the country, the shore power initiative will deliver significant air quality benefits to port workers and nearby communities.”

Nearly half the terminals in the ports are already offering shore power in at least some of their berths. These include WBCT, TraPac, YTI and STS at the Port of Los Angeles, and Pier C60 (SSA) and ITS at the Port of Long Beach.

Working with the ports and ARB to enable shore power is only the latest measure taken by the marine terminal operators (MTOs) to improve air quality around the ports. PierPass and its member terminal operators continue to offer night gate operations that move truck traffic out of peak daytime hours, reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality. Terminals are currently offering 55 OffPeak gates across 13 terminals, in addition to 65 daytime gates, for a total of 120 gates per week for cargo pickup and delivery.
 

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PierPass May News and Updates

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PierPass Monthly Transaction Data

As part of our monthly newsletters we provide a summary of the latest 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 April 2013.

Truck activity information is derived from RFID data.

Average in-terminal turn time:

  • 37.4 minutes day shift
  • 39.9 minutes night shift
    (Excluding lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets)

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors.  The average in-terminal turn time in March 2013 was 37.4 minutes for the day shift and 37.9 minutes for the night shift.

Frequent callers* average moves per day:

  • 10% trucks 5 or moves per day
  • 16% trucks 4 moves per day
  • 30% trucks 3 moves per day
  • 27% trucks 2 moves per day
  • 17% trucks 1 move per day

*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 April 2013, 26 percent of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Day vs. Night Gates:

  • Average daily number of day gate moves: 14,388
  • Average daily number of night gate moves: 15,366
  • Number of day shifts open: 25
  • Number of night shifts open: 17

The number of unique trucks calling on both ports in April was 10,806. Approximately 8,500 trucks regularly service the POLA/POLB.

Note:

  • Terminals were closed one day shift for Cesar Chavez’ Birthday and one night shift for a Stop Work meeting.

Please continue to check our web site for our Trouble Ticket Reports and tips on how to reduce trouble ticket problems.

Trouble Ticket Report #5 – WBCT

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As part of our continuing effort to better understand trouble tickets and their causes West Basin Container Terminal (WBCT) in the Port of Los Angeles has provided the fifth in our series of reports.

WBCT’s report is the first in our series to break out average delays caused by individual types of trouble tickets. During the day gates, the longest delays – an average of 57 minutes in January and February – are caused by dispatching drivers to move a container before the Traffic Mitigation Fee has been paid. During the night gates, arriving too early before the appointment time or the start of the night gates is the longest cause of delays, at an average of 27 minutes.

At WBCT, the largest generator of trouble tickets is truck registration information in their database. Interestingly, it is also the easiest and least time-consuming (11 minutes on average) to fix.

Like previous reports, many of the issues that generate a trouble ticket and additional truck delays can be avoided with some advance checking in the terminal computer system for import availability, booking number accuracy and TMF payment status.

In this month’s example (please see below), Jeff Boden details WBCT’s experience with trouble tickets for January and February of 2013 and provides tips on how to avoid them.

Bruce Wargo
President & CEO
PierPass, Inc.

WBCT Trouble Transaction Observations

In an effort to improve our customers’ experience while on terminal we have been tracking the number and type of trouble transactions and the length of time needed to correct them. Through our observations we have noticed that the trucking community is preparing their drivers for the terminal more and more, but there is still room for improvement.

Your efforts to reduce the frequency of these problems have been noticed. During the last two months at WBCT, we have completed 133,305 gate moves, with only 5,932 going to the trouble window, or generating trouble tickets. That means only 4.45% of the drivers at our terminal had a trouble transaction to correct.

Frequency of Trouble Transactions by Cause

As you will see from our data below, the largest single cause of top trouble tickets issued at WBCT is trucks arriving with incorrectly registered RFID tags. Most of these troubles are from the truck not being registered for the company that the driver is reporting he is driving for. You can also see that this is the quickest trouble for us to resolve at only 11 minutes on average. This issue can be avoided entirely by ensuring that your drivers are correctly registered to your company with eModal before they enter the terminal.

Another major contributor at the trouble window is the customs hold. It is our procedure to have drivers come to the window with their paperwork to clear customs holds. While the number of trouble transactions due to this cannot be changed, the time spent at the window can certainly be reduced by checking your containers on our website www.voyagertrack.com ahead of time for these types of holds and sending your driver in with all necessary paperwork or fees due.

We also see heavy volume at the trouble window with drivers that do not have the correct Pin number for their transaction. This takes drivers an extra 17-21 minutes to get their container on average and accounts for as much as 16% of all trouble transactions. By making sure that drivers have the correct information, this number can be greatly reduced.

Breakdown of Trouble Transactions over January and February

Breakdown of Trouble Transactions over January and February

Time Lost

Two unnecessary trouble tickets that have caused long wait times can be easily corrected.  The first is arriving too early for the scheduled pick-up appointment time.  Drivers should arrive at the terminal no earlier than one hour from their scheduled pick-up appointment time.  This will allow them to complete any return moves and stage for the pick-up.  Drivers arriving prior to one hour before their appointment   will have to wait causing undue stand-by time.  WBCT will process drivers in for PierPass pick-ups at 1700, and 1800 for Export PierPass returns.  Drivers arriving prior to that time will be forced to wait outside the gates until those times. Please dispatch your drivers accordingly, as over the last two months we have seen average wait times at 28 minutes for imports and 57 minutes for exports due to the above mentioned troubles.

The second most time-consuming trouble ticket is issued to drivers with booking issues or trucking company issues.  The booking issue could be anything from a full booking to the wrong size or type of container on a booking.  The trucking company issues are most commonly that the trucking company is not registered with the steamship line or the trucking company has been put on hold by the steamship line.  These issues can be avoided by regularly checking your booking, correctly dispatching drivers and making sure your company is currently registered and clear of any steamship line holds.  Please confirm both of these items prior to dispatching drivers to the terminal.

Equipment holds are the third most time-consuming trouble ticket issued to drivers.  Drivers arriving to pick up containers or chassis that are on hold will receive these unnecessary trouble tickets.  Information pertaining to container and chassis availability is available on our website www.voyagertrack.com.  The information provided is current and drivers should never be dispatched to pick up a container or chassis that is showing on hold without consent from the terminal.

Average Delays (in minutes) by Type of Trouble Transaction in January and February

Average Delays (in minutes) by Type of Trouble Transaction in January and February

Conclusion

By following our above recommendations, we believe that trouble tickets and wait times can be reduced by at least 30%.  We also recommend familiarizing yourselves with Voyager Track Website (www.voyagertrack.com), which offers several tools our customers can utilize including appointment setting, container availability and payment options.  We also encourage you to reach out to our customer service staff for assistance resolving or avoiding these issues if you can’t resolve the issue online.  The customer service group can be reached via email at wbctcs@wbct.us and wbcttow@wbct.us.

PierPass April News and Updates

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PierPass Monthly Transaction Data
As part of our monthly newsletters we provide a summary of the latest 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 March 2013.

Truck activity information is derived from RFID data.

Average in-terminal turn time:

  • 37.4 minutes day shift
  • 37.9 minutes night shift

(Excluding lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets)

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors. The average in-terminal turn time in January 2013 was 41.1 minutes for the day shift and 43.2 minutes for the night shift.

Frequent callers* average moves per day:

  • 6% trucks 5 or moves per day
  • 12% trucks 4 moves per day
  • 29% trucks 3 moves per day
  • 34% trucks 2 moves per day
  • 19% trucks 1 move per day

*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 2013, 32 percent of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Day vs. Night Gates:

  • Average number of day gate moves: 11,668
  • Average number of night gate moves: 11,949
  • Number of day shifts open: 27
  • Number of night shifts open: 17

The number of unique trucks calling on both ports in March was 10,390. Approximately 8,500 trucks regularly service the POLA/POLB.

Note:
Terminals were closed one night shift for a Stop Work meeting.

Please continue to check our website www.pierpass.org for our Trouble Ticket Reports and tips on how to reduce trouble ticket problems.

Pre- Dispatch / Departure Checklist and Terminal Contacts

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PierPass continues to survey terminal operators at the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports to determine the most common causes of trouble tickets. Initial finding show that trouble tickets, while  caused by a range of issues, usually are tied to inaccurate or incomplete information about an import container delivery or an export booking problem. When issued a trouble ticket, the driver typically has to go to a “trouble window” or office to get the issue resolved. This results in delays for customers and truckers and higher costs for terminal operators. Below is a checklist and resources to assist the trucking community in finding the correct information about container deliveries and export bookings.

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