Drayage

A planned 48-hour protest by truckers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is set for Monday though it’s unclear whether marine operations at the United States’ largest container port complex will be affected.

The Port of Virginia has set a schedule for an appointment system aimed at improving truck turn times at Norfolk International Terminals.

The Port of Oakland has come a long way from last summer, when harbor truckers disrupted the port through sporadic work stoppages protesting new clean-truck rules. But based on recent comments from truckers it still has plenty of work to do to improve turn times in the harbor.

Truck drivers have been back on the job for about one week now at Port Metro Vancouver, but Canada’s largest port remains quite congested, and moving containers into and out of the harbor is a chore.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Long truck lines and excessive delays at marine terminal threaten present and future growth at the Southern California ports, a trucking association official said today at the annual Pulse of the Ports meeting in Long Beach.

NEWPORT, R.I. — With a shortage of chassis a major contributor to gridlock at the Port of New York and New Jersey this winter, the idea of a portwide chassis pool is gaining traction as one possible element in an overall solution to the port’s growing congestion issues.

Port Metro Vancouver is confident that the revised 14-point action plan that convinced truck drivers in late March to end their four-week strike will establish the framework for a long-term solution to the port’s frustrating drayage problems.

Pricing for drayage is like many other aspects of the business — chaotic.

Joe Lozano bid goodbye to port drayage work in February after seven years of hauling containers to and from New York-New Jersey marine terminals. He hasn’t regretted his decision.

Teamsters union officials are hailing a National Labor Relations Board district office’s ruling as a breakthrough in their effort to prove port drayage drivers should be classified as company employees.

Drayage is a fragmented industry composed of thousands of small carriers, with a limited number of larger players. That could change as barriers to entry for owner-operators rise and the number of qualified truck drivers drops.

With the spring retail season at hand, the U.S. economy showing signs of accelerating and the import peak season six months away, there’s growing concern that shippers and their supply chains will feel the impact unless systemic problems with how containers flow from ships through ports to inland destinations are addressed.

Striking truck drivers late yesterday reached an agreement with Port Metro Vancouver, the federal government of Canada and the provincial government of British Columbia...

The provincial government of British Columbia was making progress today on implementing a back-to-work bill designed to end a crippling truckers’ strike that is now in its fourth week at Port Metro Vancouver.

Truck traffic at Port Metro Vancouver continued to increase over the weekend, but still remained below normal as the maritime community anticipated introduction of back-to-work legislation today...

The Teamsters union said today that a settlement agreement announced by Region 21 of the National Labor Relations Board will open the door to drivers at Pacific 9 Transportation in Southern California to organize a union at the harbor trucking company.

Truck traffic at Port Metro Vancouver today approached 40 percent of normal, which is the highest level reached since the strike by union and non-union drivers began three weeks ago, according to a port spokesman.

A warning by the president of Port Metro Vancouver to striking truckers to report to work today or risk losing the license that allows them to perform harbor work did not have the desired effect.

With few signs of striking truckers and Port Metro Vancouver reaching a deal, the provincial government of British Columbia said it will introduce back-to-work legislation as soon as March 24.

In an effort to turn up the heat on striking truckers, Port Metro Vancouver has announced it will not renew port-issued licenses and permits that are set to expire soon...

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says cargo diverted to U.S. Pacific Northwest ports because of the truck driver strike in Vancouver, British Columbia...

Port Metro Vancouver edged closer today to suspending and possibly revoking the licenses of the striking truck drivers who are crippling commerce at Canada’s largest port.

The delivery of local imported cargo at Port Metro Vancouver is being interrupted as the standoff between striking truckers and the Canadian government showed no signs of ending today.

Union and non-union truck drivers at Port Metro Vancouver today were reviewing the 14-point action plan...

Canadian National Railway today obtained an injunction against striking union and non-union truck groups that will prevent their drivers from blocking access...

The Canadian federal government, the provincial government of British Columbia and Port Metro Vancouver have announced a 14-point action plan...

“K” Line said a trucker strike at Port Metro Vancouver has forced the carrier to declare force majeure and to divert import containers for local Vancouver delivery to Tacoma, Wash.

TRAC Intermodal’s planned move into drayage is the first step in the company’s effort to expand its portfolio to provide “a broad suite of logistics services,” CEO Keith Lovetro said.

The trucking environment in Vancouver is turning uglier by the day, with drivers who dare to work at the Canadian port facing retribution from striking drivers, and cargo diversion already becoming a reality.

Congestion at New York-New Jersey port terminals has begun to ease with improved weather and the post-Chinese New Year lull in imports, but motor carriers say operations remain hampered by a shortage of chassis.

Truck drivers at Port Metro Vancouver carried out their threat to go on strike to protest extensive delays at marine terminals that the truckers say are making their economic situation intolerable.

Unionized truckers today rejected a tentative deal with Port Metro Vancouver, paving the way for a strike on March 10.

A potential strike at Port Metro Vancouver, Canada’s largest container gateway, was averted after a government-appointed mediator helped hash out a tentative deal with port truck drivers, according to various reports.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Ongoing congestion problems at container terminals across the U.S. are creating a collective nightmare for ports, drayage companies and shippers, costing as much as $350 million a year, speakers said at the 14th annual TPM conference here.

The home-improvement retailer Lowe’s is reducing its equipment costs and avoiding the chassis shortages that are plaguing cargo interests at a number of U.S. ports by leasing a dedicated fleet of chassis in its South Atlantic operations.

Two intermodal chassis providers have unveiled plans to cooperate in a “gray” fleet of 68,000 chassis that could be interchanged at 11 container terminals in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Ed DeNike has little confidence in drayage appointment systems at container terminals but says SSA Containers has speeded the flow of containers by sorting them for truckers to pick up as a block instead of one by one.