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Self-driving trucks revolutionising waterfronts as containerisation did

TRAPAC LLC's Los Angeles marine-cargo facility doubles the speed of loading and unloading ships, saving money and boosting profits, reports Bloomberg News.

The impact rivals that of containerisation, which revolutionised waterfront cargo handling worldwide 50 years ago, eliminating most manual work.

"Self-driving won't just rebuild the current freight system, it will create a whole new way of thinking about it," said Larry Burns, a former research and development chief at General Motors and now a consultant at Alphabet Inc's Google unit.

"It will happen sooner with goods movements than with personal transportation, because the economics are crystal clear," Mr Burns said.

The Port of Los Angeles and TraPac, a unit of Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) are investing US$693 million in four dozen self-driving cranes and automated carriers, plus related infrastructure.

As the carriers scamper back and forth across the dock, each device changes direction independently from the rest - without apparent need for human help.

A few dozen people watch and monitor in faraway control rooms. On the wharf itself, TraPac uses people only to run the cranes that unload ships and to drop containers the last few feet onto waiting trucks and trains.

To speed things up, TraPac president Frank Pisano has implemented an appointment system for truckers, who often arrive unannounced and then wait as port employees find their container.

Waiting has become intolerable for drivers. By 2040, regional container traffic could almost triple to 41.1 million TEU from 15.3 million TEU, according to a recent forecast.

Despite these advances, these facilities lag behind those in Rotterdam, where since 1993 the big Dutch port has used precursors to the self-driving equipment Mr Pisano is installing.

Today, Rotterdam has five fully automated deep-sea terminals, whose efficiencies could be augmented by semi-autonomous trucks, which were recently tested in Europe.

Also being considered are Uber-like services to find loads for empty or half-empty trucks and is considering a per-container cap on pollutants and greenhouse gases at each terminal.

But converting Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland, which handles 40 per cent of US container traffic, to all-electric, self-driving equipment will cost $35 billion in the next 30 years against $7 billion to replace existing technologies, according to a PMSA December study.

"We potentially are talking about tens of billions to hundreds of billions of dollars," said PMSA vice president Mike Jacob.

The state has contributed grants for battery-powered tractor-trailers at a new automated facility in the Long Beach Container Terminal, which began receiving cargo last month.

The port is sharing the $2 billion redevelopment cost Hong Kong carrier Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL). The port will recover its investment as OOCL makes payments on its 40-year terminal lease, according to Port of Long Beach spokesman Art Wong.

The new facility will use electric, self-driving cranes and carriers that follow the path of transponders buried in the cement on the dock. The new equipment will double the volume of containers the terminal handles, Mr Wong said.