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SoCal truck landside congestion risks cargo diversion: angry truckers

LANDSIDE port inefficiency, red tape mismatching technologies combine to threaten divert cargo to other ports says angry southern California truckers, reports American Shipper.

And if the "downward spiral" continues, San Pedro Bay ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will lose its competitive edge, according to the Harbour Trucking Association (HTA).

Wait times limit drivers to one or two round trips in a working day instead of the three to five trips typical in the past.

"If we don't do something concrete about fixing these gates now, we will lose cargo to other ports," said HTA executive director Alex Charin, whose 100 member companies control 60 per cent of southern California harbour trucking.

Said HTA chairman Fred Johring, owner of Golden State Express: "Our ability to deliver loads has been reduced 35 per cent of what our normal operation has been in the past."

Fifteen years ago, terminals were wheeled operations with boxes stored on chassis in the yard waiting for a truck to hook up and go. Today, boxes are stacked four or five high and require "live lift" by cargo handling equipment.

Truckers must wait for the box to be "dug out", with 30 minutes more lost when required to go to an off-dock leasing company to get a chassis and another half hour to return it.

Terminals have different chassis procedures and standards, meaning fresh delays when inspections and repairs are made before the chassis can leave the terminal.

In the US, harbour trucking delays cost US$348 a year in 14 million hours lost and nine million gallons of fuel burned, according to a study by Tioga Group, Philadelphia transport consultancy.

Said Mr Johring: "Because of this we have to pull loads and defer returning empties, which is costing us in terms of per diems and storage. And the per diem bills are rolling in. It's unlike anything I have ever seen. How we will cover it God only knows. But we have to put the priority on the loads."

Said Port Logistics Group operations manager Michael Johnson: "The state of the port [Long Beach] is bad at this time and has been in a steadily downward spiral."

Mr Johnson said the truckers simply do not turn up on spec, but constantly check on line whether their boxes are available, discharged from the ship, cleared customs and ready for pickup.

They also make appointments required by the terminal. Even so, the trucker is frequently told by a clerk that the box cannot be located and or released, and to come back later.