Port news: 6-mile line of trucks prompts call for port changes, truckers fight gridlock fees on West Coast

The gridlock that rocked the Port of Los Angeles and other West Coast ports caused a cargo backlog that experts forecast would take months to clear. Truckers are still working to clear the backlog following the February agreement between port workers and managers.

Port gridlock on both sides of the U.S. — and its impact on trucking — sparked push back from trucking groups seeking to fight unreasonable traffic and wait times and fees deemed unfair.

Here are the two key news items:

700-truck line cause for concern in New Jersey

Following reports of a 700-truck line waiting to pick up loads at the Port of New York and New Jersey, the intermodal wing of the New Jersey Motor Truck Association last week published an open letter deflecting any blame placed on trucking and called for the port to change its hours to accommodate the recent surge in freight volume.

“To blame the trucking community for the lines at the terminals is beyond the absurd. The volume that any other port in the world would do cartwheels to have and not service it, properly borders on sacrilege — no, it is sacrilege,” NJMTA writes in its letter.

The port should add an 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift, NJMTA recommends, as to be able to avoid delays caused by daytime traffic peaks.

“Most cargo, as much as 90 percent, is drop-and-pick and surely can be accommodated with these access times,” the association writes. “We cannot stand still. This must be solved logically, not with truckmen and women being punished for trying to do their job, and make this what the Port of New York and New Jersey can and should be.”

Click here to see the full letter.

Truckers fight West Coast port fees

Seventy to 100 trucking companies are pursing arbitration over late fees incurred in West Coast ports during the recent labor dispute that resulted in gridlock.

Intermodal Association of North America arbitrators have 45 days to render a decision after receiving a case and are expected to begin issuing decisions in May, said Curtis Whalen, executive director of the American Trucking Association’s Intermodal Motor Carrier Conference.The companies seek arbitration under IANM’s Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement, the standard industry contract between truckers and water/rail carriers and equipment providers.

West Coast port activity first slowed in November as contract negotiations drug on between dockworkers and port employers. Productivity only began to return after a tentative agreement was reached Feb. 20 on a five-year contract.

Click here to read more on this story from Overdrive sister site CCJ.

-Jill Dunn

from Overdrive http://ift.tt/1DEegSx

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