PierPass December 2016 Newsletter

Evaluation of Extended Gate Options Continues

On Dec. 8, members of the PierPass Advisory Committee met to continue the process of evaluating potential alternatives to the current extended gates model used at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach under the OffPeak Program.

The process began on Oct. 20, when the 13 container terminals that comprise the West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) met in San Pedro with more than 70 leaders representing importers, exporters, trucking companies, logistics providers, government representatives and other stakeholders.

At the Dec. 8 meeting, the PierPass Advisory Committee reviewed the feedback received at the Oct. 20 meeting, and members offered their points of view on the benefits and challenges of the three alternative models. During the Dec. 8 meeting, the first option – variable and dynamic pricing – received no support from Committee members, echoing the cool reception it received at the Oct. 20 workshop. This option has been removed from consideration.

During the remainder of the Dec. 8 meeting, attendees offered detailed feedback on the “flat fee tied to an appointment” and “port-wide peel-off” options.

An initial draft report will now be prepared by PierPass staff, which the Advisory Committee will review and meet to discuss in February. The subsequent revision of the report will go to the Extended Gates Subcommittee for review and feedback in March. PierPass is scheduled to distribute the final draft of the Extended Gates Report and Recommendations in mid-April, and a follow-up to the Extended Gates Workshop has been scheduled for early May.

Average in-terminal turn time in November 2016*:
45.2 minutes day shift
47.2 minutes night shift
*12 out of 13 terminals reporting

For comparison, the average in-terminal turn time in October was 50.2 minutes for the day shift and 51.2 minutes for the night shift. In October, terminals had the additional burden of redistributing Hanjin containers to other terminals, while in November, conditions returned to normal.

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Truck activity information is derived from RFID data, and excludes lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors. For more information about turn times and how we measure them, please see our Q&A at http://goo.gl/PiOjBp.

Average daily moves per truck in November:
5 or more moves per day: 5%
4 moves per day: 9%
3 moves per day: 24%
2 moves per day: 39%
1 move per day: 23%

Gate moves during Peak and OffPeak shifts in November:
Total Peak gate moves: 395,482 (55%)
Total OffPeak gate moves: 317,083 (45%)

A gate move occurs when a container enters or leaves a marine terminal via the truck gates. Peak shifts are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. OffPeak shifts are weeknights from 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Note:
All terminals were closed on Thursday, Nov. 24, for the Thanksgiving holiday, and some terminals were closed on Friday, Nov. 25.