PierPass Decreasing Charges at Ports of Los Angeles & Lengthy Seaside

There’s excellent news for shippers importing and exporting items via the Ports of Los Angeles and Lengthy Seaside. PierPass is overhauling its OffPeak program, considerably lowering charges on the ports.

After an 18-month-long session course of, the terminal operators on the sister ports determined to make main modifications within the OffPeak program of PierPass highlighted by the next bullet factors:

• New appointment-based system
• $31.52 per TEU price (down from $72.09 per TEU)
• $63.04 on all different sizes (delivery containers of 40′, 45′, and so forth.)
• Charges apply to all occasions (not simply peak hours)
• Efficient August
• Topic to regulatory approval

Shippers and worldwide delivery {industry} professionals have been eager to see a change within the PierPass system for fairly a while.

Within the present system, charges are positioned on cargo containers moved on the ports throughout regular daytime enterprise hours on Mondays via Fridays as a way to create an incentive to maneuver containers throughout night time and weekend hours.

These charges truly paid for prolonged gate hours on the port terminals whereas spreading out cargo motion as a way to combat port congestion.

The brand new system will unfold out delivery container motion throughout common and prolonged gate hours via appointments whereas having everybody, no matter appointment time, pay the smaller price.

In concept, shippers are taking a look at decrease charges (because the charges truckers are charged on the ports are handed on to shippers within the trucking costs) whereas the terminals nonetheless obtain the capital wanted for prolonged gate hours plus the potential of elevated effectivity via appointments.

PierPass despatched us, right here at Common Cargo, an e-mail containing an article concerning the modifications within the OffPeak program. We’re sharing it with you beneath so you have got extra data on precisely what’s occurring on the ports. For much more data, PierPass supplies a hyperlink on the finish of the article to a Q&A concerning the revised program.

LONG BEACH, Calif., April 16, 2018—PierPass will overhaul the mannequin utilized by its OffPeak program for truck visitors mitigation on the Ports of Los Angeles and Lengthy Seaside, changing the present congestion pricing mannequin with an appointment-based system that makes use of a single flat price on each daytime and nighttime container strikes.

The members of the West Coast MTO Settlement (WCMTOA)—the 12 marine terminal operators on the two adjoining ports—reached the choice after an 18-month technique of session with {industry} stakeholders, and an evaluation and survey by {industry} consultants.

Port customers have expressed a need for modifications to extend flexibility and scale back the bunching up of vehicles that always happens earlier than the beginning of the nighttime OffPeak shifts. Topic to regulatory approval, the revised OffPeak program is anticipated to start in August.

“The {industry} has been demanding ‘PierPass 2.0,’ and we’re responding,” mentioned PierPass President John Cushing. “The unique OffPeak program was an progressive and extremely efficient answer to the challenges we confronted in 2005. However it was pretty rigid, whereas an appointment-based mannequin is scalable and might evolve to satisfy altering {industry} wants, expertise and practices.”

Underneath the present program, OffPeak prices a Site visitors Mitigation Price (TMF) on weekday daytime cargo strikes to incentivize cargo homeowners to make use of OffPeak shifts on nights and Saturdays. The revised OffPeak program will change this two-tier price construction with a single flat TMF throughout each shifts, and use appointments to unfold visitors throughout the 2 shifts.

Making use of the TMF to each day and night time cargo will permit a discount of greater than 55 p.c within the TMF whereas nonetheless offering funding to function prolonged gates. The present TMF of $72.09 per TEU (twenty-foot equal unit) shall be changed by a brand new flat price of $31.52 per TEU; the speed for all different container sizes shall be a flat price of $63.04.

“The Port of Lengthy Seaside is happy with the progress PierPass has made in working with {industry} stakeholders to enhance night time gate operations in our terminals,” mentioned Port of Lengthy Seaside Government Director Mario Cordero. “As ships are getting larger and volumes enhance, environment friendly gate administration is crucial to our potential to maneuver cargo in a dependable, predictable and expedient method.”

“I’m happy and inspired that PierPass members are taking a major step ahead to enhance efficiencies on the San Pedro Bay port advanced,” mentioned Port of Los Angeles Government Director Gene Seroka. “We, in addition to the trucking group and all of our stakeholders, look ahead to elevated cargo velocity and buyer responsiveness at Port services.”

The method of reviewing OffPeak options has included a sequence of conferences starting with an October 2016 workshop the place WCMTOA met with greater than 70 leaders representing importers, exporters, trucking firms, logistics suppliers, elected officers, authorities representatives, port authorities and different provide chain stakeholders. After a sequence of subsequent stakeholder conferences to delve into potential different fashions, PierPass retained {industry} consultants to conduct an in depth evaluation. The consultants’ findings have been offered and mentioned at a follow-up {industry} workshop on March 8, 2018. WCMTOA members then labored via the remaining points to reach on the ultimate plan for the revised OffPeak program.

“The California Trucking Affiliation appreciates the proposal put forth by PierPass relating to its re-structuring of the TMF,” mentioned Alex Cherin, Government Director of the CTA Intermodal Convention. “That is the end result of many collaborative discussions between the marine terminal operators and trucking communities over the previous couple of years, and we look ahead to supporting these efforts.”

“The HTA has labored exhausting with our marine terminal colleagues to create a extra environment friendly and environmentally sustainable port advanced,” mentioned Weston LaBar, CEO of the Harbor Trucking Affiliation. “This new course for PierPass is one other instance of cross-industry collaboration and is a huge step in the correct course. It reveals that the San Pedro Bay Port Complicated will proceed to be the popular gateway for transferring America’s cargo.”

A Q&A concerning the revised OffPeak program is on the market at www.pierpass.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/QA-on-New-OffPeak-Program_4-16-18.pdf. The West Coast MTO Settlement is a dialogue settlement filed with the FMC. For extra data and to trace persevering with developments, please go to www.pierpass.org.