PierPass, a not-for-profit organisation that focuses on congestion, air quality and security issues at port terminals will begin testing a faster way for trucks to pick up containers at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
The pilot program will be conducted at three terminals, allowing containers belonging to an owner, a trucking company or logistics provider to be stacked separately. This will enable a team of trucks to make a beeline to a marine terminal using a special lane and pick up the containers in bulk.
According to PierPass, a crane can retrieve as many as 20 containers per hour under the Free-Flow concept, adding that trucking firms have reported turnaround times as fast as 11 minutes.
PierPass president and CEO Bruce Wargo said: “There’s a lot of noise involved in truck-time delivery, and we’re looking for ways to improve that experience. One of the root causes is how we deliver containers. We’d like to come up with a better process.”
Wargo went on to say that the current business process has been operating since the 1960s; however, with larger vessels carrying more containers, the Free-Flow concept could be a solution to this increase in demand.
He said: “We want to be able to measure those results and show that there’s a better way.”
PierPass will launch its Free-Flow Program at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach today.
