Location, rather than supply, is the big issue for Los Angeles, Pool of Pools said. Over half of empty and export containers brought back to Los Angeles go to a different terminal than where the container originally came in, resulting in “thousands of chassis (being) repositioned around the port daily.”
Seroka says Los Angeles needs a “strong inventory system” to help drayage carriers better locate chassis. He says the Port is looking at inventory systems that use wireless and cellular technology to track chassis as the current systems results in “a lot of discrepancies.”
The Pool of Pools currently uses an electronic data interchange system for counting chassis as they come into the port. But the on-site inventory remains the responsibility of each terminal.
To mitigate chassis repositioning, Seroka says moving chassis out of each terminal to a central port location “will give us a better line of sight as to how to repair and make sure that these chasses are roadable, so we have chasses operable in the port.”
But the Pool of Pools said one location would “have to be extremely large since every day there are between 27,000 and 34,000 chassis on terminal.” It said it has not heard of any specific plans for a central chassis depot.
The Port has looked at developing empty property surrounded by rail track operated by Pacific Harbor Line into a chassis storage and repair site. But a port spokesperson said the facility is “still in the development phase.”
Along with chassis availability, the appointment system for picking up containers is also considered one of the chokepoints at the Port. In November, the Port adopted the PierPass 2.0 program, which requires the terminals to provide two-hour appointment windows for picking up import containers.
Source: “Los Angeles” – Google News