Category Archives: News

PierPass May News and Updates

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PierPass Monthly Transaction Data

As part of our monthly newsletters we provide a summary of the latest transaction data from marine terminal operators (MTOs) at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Below please find data from the month of April 2013.

Truck activity information is derived from RFID data.

Average in-terminal turn time:

  • 37.4 minutes day shift
  • 39.9 minutes night shift
    (Excluding lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets)

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors.  The average in-terminal turn time in March 2013 was 37.4 minutes for the day shift and 37.9 minutes for the night shift.

Frequent callers* average moves per day:

  • 10% trucks 5 or moves per day
  • 16% trucks 4 moves per day
  • 30% trucks 3 moves per day
  • 27% trucks 2 moves per day
  • 17% trucks 1 move per day

*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 2013, 26 percent of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Day vs. Night Gates:

  • Average daily number of day gate moves: 14,388
  • Average daily number of night gate moves: 15,366
  • Number of day shifts open: 25
  • Number of night shifts open: 17

The number of unique trucks calling on both ports in April was 10,806. Approximately 8,500 trucks regularly service the POLA/POLB.

Note:

  • Terminals were closed one day shift for Cesar Chavez’ Birthday and one night shift for a Stop Work meeting.

Please continue to check our web site for our Trouble Ticket Reports and tips on how to reduce trouble ticket problems.

PierPass April News and Updates

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PierPass Monthly Transaction Data
As part of our monthly newsletters we provide a summary of the latest transaction data from marine terminal operators (MTOs) at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Below please find data from the month of March 2013.

Truck activity information is derived from RFID data.

Average in-terminal turn time:

  • 37.4 minutes day shift
  • 37.9 minutes night shift

(Excluding lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets)

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors. The average in-terminal turn time in January 2013 was 41.1 minutes for the day shift and 43.2 minutes for the night shift.

Frequent callers* average moves per day:

  • 6% trucks 5 or moves per day
  • 12% trucks 4 moves per day
  • 29% trucks 3 moves per day
  • 34% trucks 2 moves per day
  • 19% trucks 1 move per day

*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 February 2013, 32 percent of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Day vs. Night Gates:

  • Average number of day gate moves: 11,668
  • Average number of night gate moves: 11,949
  • Number of day shifts open: 27
  • Number of night shifts open: 17

The number of unique trucks calling on both ports in March was 10,390. Approximately 8,500 trucks regularly service the POLA/POLB.

Note:
Terminals were closed one night shift for a Stop Work meeting.

Please continue to check our website www.pierpass.org for our Trouble Ticket Reports and tips on how to reduce trouble ticket problems.

PierPass March News and Updates

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PierPass Monthly Transaction Data
As part of our monthly newsletters we provide a summary of the latest transaction data from marine terminal operators (MTOs) at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Below please find data from the month of February 2013.

Truck activity information is derived from RFID data.

Average in-terminal turn time:

  • 41.1 minutes day shift
  • 43.2 minutes night shift

(Excluding lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets)

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors. The average in-terminal turn time in January 2013 was 37.5 minutes for the day shift and 40.6 minutes for the night shift.

Frequent callers* average moves per day:

  • 12% trucks 5 or moves per day
  • 20% trucks 4 moves per day
  • 30% trucks 3 moves per day
  • 23% trucks 2 moves per day
  • 15% trucks 1 move per day

*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 February 2013, 32 percent of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Day vs. Night Gates:

  • Average number of day gate moves: 13,737
  • Average number of night gate moves: 13,355
  • Number of day shifts open: 23
  • Number of night shifts open: 16

Approximately 8,500 trucks regularly service the POLA/POLB.

Note:
Terminals were closed for two holidays (Lincoln’s Birthday and President’s Day), and were closed an additional night shift for a Stop Work meeting.

Please continue to check our web site www.pierpass.org for our Trouble Ticket Reports and tips on how to reduce trouble ticket problems.

PierPass February News and Updates

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PierPass Monthly Transaction Data
As part of our monthly newsletters we provide a summary of the latest transaction data from marine terminal operators (MTOs) at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Below please find data from the month of January 2013.

Truck activity information is derived from RFID data.

Average in-terminal turn time:

  • 37.5 minutes day shift
  • 40.6 minutes night shift

(Excluding lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets)

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors.

Frequent callers* average moves per day:

  • 13% trucks 5 or moves per day
  • 19% trucks 4 moves per day
  • 27% trucks 3 moves per day
  • 22% trucks 2 moves per day
  • 19% trucks 1 move per day

*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 January 2013, 32 percent of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Day vs. Night Gates:

  • Average number of day gate moves: 16,437
  • Average number of night gate moves: 17,047
  • Number of day shifts open: 25
  • Number of night shifts open: 17

Approximately 8,500 trucks regularly service the POLA/POLB.

Note:
Closed one night for Stop Work meeting, New Years Day and the MLK Holiday.

Please continue to check our web site www.pierpass.org for our Trouble Ticket Reports and tips on how to reduce trouble ticket problems.

Marine Terminal Operators at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach Launch Initiative to Speed Cargo Moves by Reducing Trouble Tickets

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqxtJGeKNb4&feature=youtu.be]
LONG BEACH, Calif., Jan. 10, 2013 – PierPass Inc. today announced an initiative to reduce the number of transaction problems experienced when trucks pick up or deliver containers at the marine terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. These problems – exceptions from normal processes that result in the issuance of “trouble tickets” — lead to substantial delays in container movement through the terminals.

About 5% of all transactions at terminals in the United States result in trouble tickets, which on average add about an hour to the “turn time,” the amount of time a truck spends at a terminal, according to a 2011 report by the National Cooperative Freight Research Program (NCFRP). The report found that “exceptions from normal processes [are] a major source of delay and cost. The long ‘tails’ on the turn time data, in particular, suggest that around 5% of the cases consume much more than the ‘normal’ time and expense.” Most trouble tickets can be prevented through better communications before a truck arrives at the terminal gates, the NCFRP report said.

PierPass has surveyed terminal operators at the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports to determine the most common causes of trouble tickets, and found that the situation at the two adjacent ports matches what NCFRP found nationally. While trouble tickets are caused by a range of issues, they usually are tied to inaccurate or incomplete information about an import container delivery or an export booking problem. When issued a trouble ticket, the driver typically has to go to a “trouble window” or office to get the issue resolved. This results in delays for customers and truckers and higher costs for terminal operators.

“Trucking companies can avoid most trouble tickets and reduce turn times by checking with the terminals’ web-based systems before coming to the terminal gates,” said Bruce Wargo, president of PierPass. “These systems let dispatchers confirm the availability of import containers or the validity of export booking numbers before prematurely sending a truck to the terminal.”

PierPass is distributing a fact sheet to trucking companies with tips on trouble-ticket prevention. PierPass today also released a video in which stakeholders representing terminal operators, trucking companies and the ports discuss approaches to reducing trouble tickets.

The NCFRP report found that better procedures by trucking companies can reduce trouble tickets. It noted that less experienced drivers and trucking companies that don’t regularly serve the ports generate exceptions and receive trouble tickets much more frequently than regular port visitors. Drivers making an average of at least one call per day had only a 3.0% trouble ticket rate, vs. 7.8% for those making less than one call per week, the report found.

At the APL Terminal in the Port of Los Angeles, the largest group of trouble tickets (34%) in July and August 2012 were issued when truckers arrived to pick up containers that were on hold. Containers can be put on hold for a variety of reasons including U.S. Customs release, agricultural inspection, and unpaid steamship charges or Traffic Mitigation Fees.

The second-largest group (20%) was due to the container number not matching the number on the Bill of Lading, which can also be checked online before delivering a container. In total, about 5% of all gate transactions – 2,500 in all – ended up at the trouble window. APL says 65% of all trouble tickets during that period could have been resolved before the truck came to the terminal.

In 2011, the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, terminals and trucking community published the first comprehensive turn time study at the ports using GPS technology. It found that the median turn time inside the terminals during the period studied was 31 minutes per visit, and that 88% of trucks took less than 2 hours per visit. The study also found:

  • The median time trucks spent in queue waiting to get into the gates was 20 minutes and the terminal time 31 minutes, for a total visit time of 51 minutes.
  • Some have implied that it is typical to wait three hours to get into a terminal. But the study showed that only 9% of queue waits were more than an hour.
  • Only 3% of visits took three hours or more, including queue time and terminal time.

PierPass and its member terminal operators continue to offer night gate operations to address container demand and traffic mitigation. Terminals are currently offering 55 OffPeak gates across 13 terminals, in addition to 65 daytime gates, for a total of 120 gates per week for cargo pickup and delivery.

Post-Strike Update

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As we come out of a terrible strike situation, with 9 of the 13 container terminals having been closed to receiving of export cargo and delivery of import cargo for over a week, we will be facing some very real operational challenges in order to get the cargo moving again. Marine terminal operators are committed to facilitating this effort.

Terminal operators are undertaking a series of efforts to help customers get caught up on cargo moves through the port. These efforts include:

  • Flex-starting the gates one hour prior to the evening shift start to help get trucks in and out of the gates
  • Adding additional labor to relieve gate operations for continuous receipt and delivery of trucks during breaks and lunch hours
  • Adding extra OffPeak shifts

These changes will begin immediately and continue until the backlog of containers is addressed. Please check the PierPass web sites www.pierpass.org and www.pierpass-tmf.org for the current OffPeak Schedule.

WORKING TOGETHER TO AVOID CONGESTION

Terminals are currently uncongested. In the coming days, as waiting ships and trains arrive, we expect congestion to temporarily increase. As described above, the terminals are adding flex gates, additional labor and extra shifts to maximize throughput and quickly work through any backlog.

To minimize delays at the terminals and avoid trouble tickets, PierPass urges trucking companies and drivers to check the availability of import containers or the validity of export booking numbers before coming to the terminal. All terminals have web-based availability systems that allow dispatchers and cargo owners to double-check before prematurely sending a trucker to the terminal. They can also use eModal.com.

In addition, truckers can check gate conditions in real time through the live gate cams at https://www.pierpass.org/live/.

OFFPEAK NIGHT GATES GREATLY REDUCE CONGESTION

Some cargo interests have asked PierPass to temporarily suspend the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) while the backlog is cleared. The terminal operators have evaluated and rejected the idea, which we believe could greatly increase congestion in the short term and risk undermining OffPeak’s long-term solution to port congestion.

The TMF supports the OffPeak night and Saturday shifts that ease the strain of port operation on local communities. OffPeak shifts handle an average of 75,000 truck trips in a typical week, or about 55% of container moves. If the OffPeak shifts were eliminated, most of these trips would take place in peak daytime traffic, causing heavy congestion and increasing air pollution.

The TMF, which is charged on daytime container moves, provides an incentive for cargo to move at night, and pays for most of the night and Saturday OffPeak gates. OffPeak helps to spread traffic across more hours, makes better use of valuable port assets, reduces the uncertainty of delivery times, improves turn time for trucks and drivers, and reduces traffic on local highways during commute hours.

The program has worked very effectively for over eight years, mitigating the congestion at the terminals and in and around neighborhoods and freeways with no city, state or federal subsidies. Since 2005, more than 21 million truck moves have taken place during OffPeak hours. In keeping days and nights open for trucks, our ports are more effective and productive.

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PierPass Trouble Ticket Report #2 – ITS

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In a previous News and Updates Newsletter, we talked about the unfortunate issue of the “trouble ticket”, how it affects truck drivers, and why we feel it is an important problem to resolve.  When a truck driver is sidelined at a container terminal due to a trouble ticket problem, it can delay the driver for an hour or more, depending on the issue.  Trouble tickets happen at all the terminals, and in most cases can be avoided with a little pre-arrival work to ensure the driver has correct information before going to the terminal.  We want to do our best to communicate how this issue effects all stakeholders in the movement of containers, so that steps can be taken to avoid trouble tickets.

We pointed out in our previous report that there are tools available to help avoid trouble tickets and the delays they create for the drayman.  We encourage all trucking companies to review their procedures and make sure they check the terminal computer systems or eModal.com for the import availability and export booking numbers before sending the driver to the terminal.

In this month’s example from International Transportation Service (ITS) Long Beach, Manager Bill Cologne discusses trouble tickets from his terminal’s experience and offers suggestions on how to avoid trouble ticket delays.

Bruce Wargo

PierPass, Inc.

Terminal Example:

For ITS, almost 6% of the truck drivers are issued a Driver Assistance Ticket or Trouble Ticket, which is about 1,600 drivers each month.  Most trouble ticket transactions are eventually resolved, however, many can be avoided altogether.  Trouble tickets make all the stakeholders less efficient and are costly for all those involved.  Not only does the driver wait for the problem to be resolved, but the terminal staff has to spend time involved in the resolution process, further adding to the cost and inefficiency.  Additionally, the cargo owner is delayed in receiving or delivering the container.

At ITS, we want all truckers and trucking companies to have a productive and efficient experience.  It is important to our own operation as well as the trucking company to make sure trucks arrive and depart in as timely a manner as possible.  Trouble tickets are something we can work together on reducing in order to improve the current experience.  We have included below a two month example of the trouble tickets generated for imports and exports only.

Below is the breakdown for the top 6 trouble ticket categories that occured in September and October, 2012:

  • Container is on Import TMF hold – 1121
  • Booking is on Export TMF hold – 752
  • Booking Number is Invalid – 367
  • Pin number is invalid for Import Pick-up – 317
  • Container is on Hold – 219
  • Booking is Full – 176

The numbers show that from this 2 month period, 51% of the trouble tickets involved import containers and 40% were related to export booking number problems.  Many of these could have been avoided by first checking the terminal system for the availability of import containers and export booking numbers.  You can do this by going to our website or calling our customer service numbers.

PierPass November News and Updates

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PierPass Monthly Transaction Data  

As part of our monthly newsletters we provide a summary of the latest transaction data from marine terminal operators (MTOs) at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Below please find data from the month of October 2012.

Truck activity information derived from RFID data.

Average in-terminal turn time:

  • 36.1 minutes day shift
  • 39.9 minutes night shift
    (Excluding lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets)

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors. The average in-terminal turn time in September 2012 was 37.9 minutes for the day shift and 40.9 minutes for the night shift.

Frequent callers* average moves per day:

  • 12% trucks 5 or moves per day
  • 21% trucks 4 moves per day
  • 30% trucks 3 moves per day
  • 23% trucks 2 moves per day
  • 14% trucks 1 move per day

*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 September 2012, 37 percent of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Day vs. Night Gates:

  • Average number of day gate moves: 15,261
  • Average number of night gate moves: 16,864
  • Number of day shifts open: 27
  • Number of night shifts open: 18

Approximately 8,500 trucks regularly service the POLA/POLB.

Note:

  • Closed one night for Stop Work Meeting.
  • Terminal operators continue to monitor trouble tickets at selected terminals.  Our reports on this effort can be found at www.pierpass.org. Terminal operators feel that trouble tickets generated due to a lack of information or incorrect information provided by the truck driver detract from the driver and terminal efficiency and increase the driver’s in-terminal turn times.  Please take a moment to review our reports on this topic.

 

PierPass Trouble Ticket Report #1 – EMS

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As the harbor community works to streamline cargo movements and reduce truck turn-times, there is a particular inefficiency that must be addressed:  the trouble ticket. While trouble tickets are caused by a range of issues, they almost always stem from inaccurate or incomplete information about an import container delivery or an export booking problem. This results in delays for customers and truckers and additional issues for terminal operators.

Fortunately, through the use of available tools, we can improve the situation and reduce truck turn-times by checking the availability of import containers or the validity of export booking numbers. All terminals have web-based availability systems and some have additional phone systems that allow the trucking and cargo communities to doublecheck before prematurely sending a trucker to the terminal. eModal.com serves as another resource for confirming the validity and availability of cargo prior to pickup. When trucking companies fail to use these resources, truckers experience delays as a result.

In an effort to better understand the causes and effects of trouble tickets, PierPass will work with terminals over the next few months to document their experiences with trouble tickets. We understand that this is a problem across all terminals, but we also know that this problem can be improved by checking and confirming before dispatching.

Below please find the first terminal account of the trouble ticket issue.

TERMINAL EXAMPLE:

As a terminal operator, EMS Ltd. (APL Terminal) would like each and every trucker to have a positive experience delivering or picking up a container at our terminal. We strongly recommend and ask that drivers collect all required information prior to entering the terminal. This includes using Pier Pass, eModal.com, terminal website, customer service and our automated phone system to confirm that containers are discharged, cleared and ready for pickup.  For GGS, approximately 5 percent of all gate transactions end up at the trouble window – about 2,500 drivers every month.  We need your help to reduce the number of trouble tickets. Please see below our top 3 trouble ticket items which consist over 65% of the problem that can be avoided with unnecessary visit to our trouble window.

table

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please use the below contact information to contact Eagle Marine Services and see if a container is cleared and available. Keep in mind that drivers may be held up by others that did not check availability or booking information.

Website: www.eaglemarineservices.com

For automated container availability 24/7; Please call our Eagle Voice: (888) 815-3758

For Customer Service; Please call (310) 548-8815

PierPass September News and Updates

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Trouble Tickets

Terminal operators are monitoring trouble ticket traffic at several different terminals.  In the coming weeks we will be sharing some trouble ticket numbers and suggestions for improvement with the stakeholder community as a result of that review.

PierPass Monthly Transaction Data  

As part of our monthly newsletters we provide a summary of the latest transaction data from marine terminal operators (MTOs) at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Below please find data from the month of August 2012.

Truck activity information derived from RFID data.

Average in-terminal turn time:

  • 36 minutes day shift
  • 39.5 minutes night shift
    (Excluding lunch hour, breaks and trouble tickets)

In-terminal turn time is the average amount of time a truck is inside a terminal to complete a transaction. Turn time at individual terminals will vary depending on time of day and other factors. The average in-terminal turn time in July 2012 was 38.2 minutes for the day shift and 39.1 minutes for the night shift.

Frequent callers* average moves per day:

  • 14% trucks 5 or moves per day
  • 20% trucks 4 moves per day
  • 28% trucks 3 moves per day
  • 23% trucks 2 moves per day
  • 15% trucks 1 move per day

*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 July 2012, 38 percent of frequent callers made four or more moves per day.

Day vs. Night Gates:

  • Average number of day gate moves: 14,620
  • Average number of night gate moves: 18,871
  • Number of day shifts open: 27
  • Number of night shifts open: 15

Approximately 8,500 trucks regularly service the POLA/POLB.

Note:

  • 1 Stop Work Meeting on 2nd shift