Drayage

TRAC Intermodal, the United States’ largest provider of intermodal chassis, plans to extend its services into drayage, said CEO Keith Lovetro.

Unionized truckers at Port Metro Vancouver issued a 72-hour notice at the weekend that they are prepared to strike unless measures are taken to reduce long truck lines at marine terminals at Canada’s largest container port.

Port Metro Vancouver in Canada is bracing for a threatened two-day strike by harbor truck drivers, and companies that work in the harbor say the impact could be immediate and severe.

Port drayage operators in Virginia are complaining about congestion and slow turn times at at Hampton Roads container terminals.

Some port drayage companies in the Port of New York and New Jersey have begun imposing congestion surcharges following weeks of delays at container terminals.

Mega-ships and carrier alliances could prove to be the financial savior of the container shipping industry, but they are also straining the operations of marine terminals and motor carriers.

The Teamsters union and its allies say they’ve been scoring a series of recent victories in cases claiming port owner-operator drivers are misclassified as independent contractors instead of employees.

The Port of Virginia is forming an industry task force to find solutions to problems that have caused delays at Hampton Roads container terminals during recent weeks.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association urged the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to take immediate steps to ease delays and clear backlogs that are playing havoc with supply chains.

An association of port drayage companies called for immediate steps, including longer hours at container terminal gates and hiring of additional longshore labor...

Harbor truck drivers returned to their jobs on Feb. 12 after a four-day strike at the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal, a DP World facility in India’s Port of Cochin.

A threatened strike by owner-operators at the Port of New York and New Jersey had little impact this morning, as port terminals handled normal volumes while paying overtime to longshore labor for working on Lincoln’s Birthday.

Drayage company owners and managers say this winter’s dysfunction at New York-New Jersey container terminals has exploded into a crisis that in some ways is worse than Hurricane Sandy’s devastation at the port.

A strike by harbor truck crews has affected normal operations at the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal, a DP World facility in India’s Port of Cochin.

Some owner-operator drayage drivers in the Port of New York and New Jersey say they plan to refuse assignments and park their trucks tomorrow to call attention to long turn times and other grievances.

A chassis-shortage contagion that has plagued the three largest U.S. ports since late last year is a stark reminder to cargo interests, trucking companies and waterfront labor that the cozy world of ocean carrier-owned chassis has come to an end.

New York-New Jersey container terminals reopened on Feb. 10 to long truck queues as the terminals struggle with ice, congestion and delays that truckers say are causing cargo to be routed to other ports.

The frigid winds of January, which brought snow, ice and unusually cold temperatures to a large swathe of the United States, could have a longer lasting chilling effect on the economy and overshadow the first quarter.

Winter weather has combined with congestion at terminals and backlogs for repairs to produce chassis shortages at the Port of New York and New Jersey and at Midwest rail terminals.

A crisis of chassis dislocations has developed in Los Angeles-Long Beach, and the entire port community is seeking a solution before it spins out of control.

The New Jersey Motor Truck Association is working with New York-New Jersey container terminals to ease problems that cause congestion and delays that have angered drayage drivers.

Fed up with chronic delays at container terminals, some truck drivers at the Port of New York and New Jersey are beginning to talk openly about parking their rigs and refusing assignments to the piers.

The polar vortex didn’t put the U.S. into a deep freeze for long but the widespread chill is still causing transportation problems for shippers, railroads and drayage truckers. Those problems may be contributing to stronger-than-usual business for over-the-road truckers.

Container terminals in the Port of New York and New Jersey will be closed Friday because of a blizzard that’s forecast to hit the region with six to nine inches of snow and winds of up to 35 miles per hour.

Normal operations resumed on Dec. 25 at India’s Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal, a DP World facility in Cochin Port, following the end of a work stoppage action by harbor truck drivers.

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A strike by harbor truck crew over wage improvement and bonus entitlement issues has disrupted normal operations at the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal, a DP World facility in India’s Port of Cochin, according to local shipping sources.

The Harbor Trucking Association of Southern California will soon release on its website an ongoing truck mobility project that should provide value to terminal operators and beneficial cargo owners seeking to improve gate productivity in Los Angeles-Long Beach.

The Port of Oakland and the California Trucking Association are urging independent truck drivers not to carry through with a yet another strike in the harbor that is planned for Nov. 27.

The New Jersey Motor Truck Association is discussing a possible lawsuit or Federal Maritime Commission complaint to force New York-New Jersey container terminals to pay truckers for drivers’ waiting time outside terminal gates.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Harbor truckers in Los Angeles-Long Beach are proposing a revolutionary plan to relieve port congestion by keeping marine terminal gates open round the clock, and paying for the increased operating costs by charging a fee on every container that moves through the ports.

Harbor truck drivers backed by the Teamsters union made a statement this week by demonstrating against alleged unfair labor practices at three drayage company facilities in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area, but their actions had no impact on cargo-handling at the port complex.

Port of Los Angeles truck drivers from Green Fleet Systems, American Logistics International and Pac 9 Transportation went on strike this morning to protest labor practices...

Despite attempts over the past decade by the Teamsters union to convince drayage companies that the entire industry would benefit if drivers were hired as direct employees, the majority of drivers wish to remain independent, according to a drayage company president in Southern California.

The Harbor Trucking Association of Southern California in early December will launch on its Web site a monthly tracking system that will provide data on turn times at all of the container terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach.

Although it was a single incident involving one motor carrier in Southern California, the purchase of a truck off a lease by a father-son driving team confirms that the owner-operator model at U.S. container ports is viable, the harbor trucking industry believes.

Representatives of waterfront employers, drayage companies and the International Longshoremen’s Association said there’s an urgent need to improve the way intermodal chassis are supplied in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

ASF Intermodal has opened an intermodal drayage facility in the Chicago area.