Terminal Operators Announce Formation of Working Group to Study Turn Times at Marine Terminal Gates

Group Brings Together Key Stakeholders to Help Identify Solution

LONG BEACH, Calif., July 7, 2010 – The West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) today announced it will form a working group to study turn times at the marine terminal gates at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. 

In the past several months, there has been increased discussion about turn times at the marine terminal gates.  Turn time is the amount of time it takes a truck to complete a transaction at the marine terminal.

Bruce Wargo, president of PierPass, the non-profit formed by WCMTOA in 2005 to address marine terminal issues such as congestion, security and air quality, has been selected to chair the group.

“I am honored to lead this group and look forward to meeting with key stakeholders to gather feedback and help identify the issues and potential solutions,” Wargo said.  “The marine terminal operators understand that improving turn times is a priority for the truck community and port environment, and we are committed to serving our customers and to the efficient movement of cargo through the ports.”

The marine terminal operators (MTOs) have been diligently monitoring the return of cargo volumes from the 2008-2009 levels and have been adding back the noon hour relief and flex gates to process trucks in line at the gates.  Over the past five years, the MTOs have implemented a number of solutions, such as OffPeak gates and RFID tags, to improve the efficiency of terminal operations. 

The working group will include representatives from importer and exporter interests, the trucking community, port authorities and marine terminal operators.

For information on PierPASS, go to www.pierpass.org.

PierPASS is a not-for-profit company created by marine terminal operators at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in 2005 to address multi-terminal issues such as congestion, security and air quality. Under the program, all international container terminals in the two ports established five new shifts per week. As an incentive to use the new OffPeak shifts and to cover the added cost of the shifts, a Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) is required for most cargo movement during peak hours (Monday through Friday, 3 a.m. to 6 p.m.).