Intermodal Sustainability: Alabama, New York/New Jersey, Metro Vancouver

The Alabama State Port Authority has contracted for the Phase I construction of the Garrows Bend Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) at the Port of Mobile. The ICTF is part of port authority’s three-prong intermodal development strategy that also includes a logistics park and a container terminal berth draft depth of 45 feet.

The $20.1 million contract calls for the construction of two operating tracks, a run-around track, and a car repair siding track, each with a minimum length of 3,000 feet. Other Phase I components include rubber-tired gantry runways and chassis storage areas, multilane gates, power distribution and lighting, an access road, and related surface improvements. The intermodal rail facility will be equipped with optical character recognition portals at the rail and truck entrances.

The ICTF will service import/export containerized cargoes moving through APM Terminals Mobile, as well as domestic containerized cargoes from regional manufacturers.

"We are pleased to get this important phase of our intermodal investment program underway," said Port Authority Chief Executive James K. Lyons. "The delivery of an intermodal rail facility is essential to alleviating time and cost pressures for our shippers, while expanding our market reach."

The Phase I construction complements the port authority’s new $10 million rail bridge that connects the Garrows Bend ICTF with the five Class I railroads serving the Port of Mobile. Both the rail bridge and the Phase I yard are funded by the port authority and a $12 million U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant. Phase I of the ICTF is expected to be completed by year-end 2015.

Rendering of the Garrows Bend ICTF.
Source/Alabama State Port Authority

New York/New Jersey: Port Performance Council Opts for Chassis Market Pool Model 

The Council on Port Performance (CPP) Equipment Implementation Team agreed on November 20 to implement a port-wide chassis pool in the Port of New York and New Jersey.

Council members include the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, chassis leasing companies, marine terminals, International Longshoremen's Association, labor associations, trucker associations, and ocean carriers. John Nardi, president of New York Shipping Association, chairs the Implementation Team.

The team determined that the market pool model was the best option for efficient chassis provisioning in the Port of New York and New Jersey. A market pool is one in which various entities contribute chassis to one large port fleet.

All chassis would have the same mark, and the pool would be managed at arm's length by a third party under contract to a pool board. The pool board would be made up of representatives from each of the chassis contributors and others representing key supply chain stakeholders in the port.

Users would have access by establishing a commercial contract with an individual chassis contributor. The commercial contract is not part of the market pool's oversight or management, but rather a market-based competitive activity. Chassis contributors may offer unique products and services within private pools but this would be outside of the market pool at non-common locations in the New York/New Jersey region. This would allow for chassis contributors to compete for users on a variety of service dimensions while at the same time the market pool would offer operational efficiencies with full interoperability at all the port terminals throughout the port.

During the coming weeks, port stakeholders will draft a request for proposal for a pool manager detailing the qualifications and responsibilities to be considered. The RFP will be available in early December. If a suitable manager is identified, the market pool can be implemented by early 2nd quarter 2015.

Richard M. Larrabee, port commerce department director for The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and chair of the CPP, said that implementing a Chassis Management System was a Tier One recommendation of the Port Performance Task Force and arguably the most critical one. "Several council members and other stakeholders worked tirelessly to get us to this critical milestone," Mr. Larrabee noted. "The value of the CPP working in a collaborative advisory capacity cannot be overstated."

Port Metro Vancouver: New Truck License Policy Launched to Stabilize Port Container Trucking Operations 

A new system of permitting container trucks to enter port property is being introduced at Port Metro Vancouver. The aim is to strike a balance between the supply of trucks and the amount of container trucking work available at the port while ensuring that drivers are paid fairly.

The new program is a combination of higher participation charges, enhanced truck age requirements aligned with the port’s current environmental standards, an expanded provincial audit and oversight framework, improved tracking and measurement of port efficiency, and trucking company sponsorship of owner-operator drivers.

Specific details of the reforms have been communicated to trucking stakeholders. The port authority expects the changes will be finalized along with related provincial regulations in the coming days. The new system is expected to take effect February 1, 2015.

Higher participation charges will be used to fund the new system on a cost recovery basis, to reduce the number of trucking companies from over 150 that currently serve the port, and to ensure drivers are "appropriately protected" from what the port describes as "rampant undercutting that has created widespread driver discontent."

Registration and licensing in the new system will be required only for those requiring access to port marine container terminals. Drivers no longer registered to access port marine container terminals will be eligible to participate in a support program to help them transition out of container trucking and are free to provide driving services elsewhere.

"It is expected these changes and others implemented as a result of the Joint Action Plan between the federal and provincial government and trucker representatives will not only bring stability to the port, but will also provide a level of container truck management that is unprecedented at other ports around the world," said Peter Xotta, vice president, operations and planning for Port Metro Vancouver.

Other changes already implemented or planned include extended terminal hours, wait-time payments to drivers, a robust reservation system, the whistleblower Drayage ConfidenceLine, and GPS monitoring of all truck movements.

American Association of Port Authorities
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