WEST COAST SHIPPERS ASKED TO CONSIDER NIGHTTIME GATES

WEST COAST SHIPPERS ASKED TO CONSIDER NIGHTTIME GATES    The West Coast Waterfront Coalition will ask shippers that use the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach about their ability to accept cargo deliveries outside the normal port hours and which times and days of the week would be ideal for them to take advantage of extended gates.
   The coalition consists of more than 50 companies and trade associations, representing shippers, carriers, terminal operators and intermediaries who are concerned about West Coast port productivity. The coalition is studying the possibility of testing extended gates hours at marine terminals in Los Angeles and Long Beach.
   “We are developing a list of top shippers in the Los Angeles/Long Beach area and hope to have a survey in their hands by the end of September,” said Robin Lanier, executive director of the coalition.
   The coalition recently met with officials from the California Trucking Association. The association outlined the benefits of extended gate hours to the drayage industry, such as more driver turns, higher revenues for drivers and a reduction of air pollution and congestion on the highways during peak hours.
   “The trucking companies are ready to go and provide detailed views on how to structure the transition to extended gate hours,” Lanier said. The truckers suggested that “hoot gates,” especially on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, should be a first priority, followed by Sunday gates and night gates on Mondays and Tuesdays.
   At the meeting in Long Beach last week, the Pacific Maritime Association presented initial results of an informal study on the incremental cost of shifting 30 percent of cargo to nighttime hours. While the study did not consider types of gate hour configurations, it did suggest that significant cost reductions could be achieved.
   The coalition plans to meet again in early November to review the results of its outreach efforts to the shippers.