10 THE JOURNAL OF COMMERCE www.joc.com SEPTEMBER 21.2015
COVER STORY
ANYONE WHO'S SAT for an extended
per iod beyond t hei r doc tor 's
appointment or waited for a cable
representative to arrive in a four-
hour window certainly can forgive
harbor drayage carriers for their
skepticism about the plan termi-
nal operators in Los Angeles-Long
Beach have devised to alleviate
congestion at the gates.
The truckers, after all, want the
terminal operators' groundbreaking
idea to develop a system of appoint-
ments throughout the harbor to
succeed. But with 12 terminals and
various operating systems involved,
harbor truckers are wary of the
rigid operating environment that
could result.
Coordinating as many as a
dozen stand-alone trucker appoint-
ment systems will be difficult to
arrange. Without allowing for the
flexibility motor carriers and their
drivers need to adjust on the fly to
the many glitches occurring daily
at most large ports, true reductions
in port congestion are just wishful
thinking.
In fact, an appointment system
Port Metro Vancouver terminals
Drayage carriers
applaud PierPass's
plan for trucker
appointment
systems in
Los Angeles-
Long Beach but
want to be part
of the development
By Bill Mongelluzzo
