PierPass May News and Updates

Fastest truck turn times since mid-2014

Truck waiting times continued their rapid improvement in April, as the terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach saw the heavy congestion of last fall and early this year recede into the past.

Trucks are now moving through the terminals faster than they have since mid-2014. For one transaction (picking up or delivering a container) on the Peak (weekday daytime) shift, it took trucks an average of 44.6 minutes in April, down from a high of 60.9 minutes in January 2015 and the lowest since June 2014. On OffPeak shifts (weekday nights and Saturdays), turn times in April averaged 49.5 minutes, down from a high of 61.4 minutes in November 2014 and the lowest since August 2014.

Average in-terminal turn time in April 2015:
44.6 minutes day shift
49.5 minutes night shift

For comparison, the average in-terminal turn time in March 2015 was 51.5 minutes for the day shift and 54.5 minutes for the night shift.

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 for frequent callers* in April:
5 or moves per day: 8%
4 moves per day: 15%
3 moves per day: 29%
2 moves per day: 32%
1 move per day: 16%

*The ports define frequent callers as trucks making one or more moves per weekday. Average moves per day by frequent callers tells us how many moves a truck can make if it is working every day. In April, 23% of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Gate moves during Peak and OffPeak/exempt shifts:
Total Peak gate moves: 362,155 (55%)
Total OffPeak/Exempt gate moves: 297,593 (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 Monday through Friday, 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday night and Sunday shifts, which are not regularly scheduled, are considered “exempt.”

To learn what it takes for a truck to drop off or pick up a container at a marine terminal, please see http://youtu.be/P9IJN1yIIJ4.