Port of Oakland task force seeks to reduce drayage wait times

A group of stakeholders at the Northern California port that includes cargo owners, terminal operators and labor representatives is exploring ways to measure turn time for drayage truckers as well as considering a possible appointment system.    The Port of Oakland said an efficiency task force made up of cargo owners, terminal operators, labor representatives and others have called for a 90-minute maximum wait time for harbor truck drivers.
   The task force called for at least 80 percent of the port’s chassis fleet to be available at all times. The lack of chassis, trailers used to transport shipping containers over the road, contributes to driver delays.
   According to a the port, the task force met last week and said drivers should wait no more than 45 minutes to complete single transactions such as picking up imports or delivering exports and should wait no more than 90 minutes for dual transactions.
   The proposed benchmarks come from a task force assembled by the port in 2015 to improve cargo-handling performance. They said measurement standards are needed to improve cargo-handling speed and efficiency and that the port will review the proposals in time for a meeting next month.
   The task force said it’s also exploring a mandatory appointment system for the Port of Oakland’s marine terminals. The system would require truck drivers to schedule a time to pick up or drop off containers.