L.A., Long Beach terminals agree on pickup windows

The revised OffPeak program is expected to ramp up in August.    The container terminal operators in the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles that participate in the PierPass program said that they have have agreed to add common operating procedures for their appointment systems.
   The decision is part of the changes being made to the OffPeak program that is used to help fund the operation of terminals in the ports at nights and on Saturdays.
   PierPass says it is altering the OffPeak program it first implemented in 2005 to encourage trucks to move containerized cargo at night at the two ports. Instead of collecting a $72.06 per TEU “traffic mitigation fee” on containers being picked up during the day and waiving it at night, terminal operators will charge a flat fee of $31.52 per TEU for both daytime and nighttime container moves. Traffic will be spread out by requiring all shippers to obtain an appointment for picking up containers. Subject to regulatory approval, the revised OffPeak program is expected to begin in August.
   The terminals said Monday that they have agreed on a standard two-hour appointment window — the time span between the earliest and latest times a truck can arrive for an appointment, including grace periods. In addition, all terminals agreed that their last appointment times of the day will be 3:30 p.m. on the first shift and 1:30 a.m. on the second shift.
   “The new business rules will take effect when the new program begins and are expected to increase efficiencies for users when planning appointments at more than one terminal,” said PierPass.
   PierPass also clarified that the new system, which some have referred to as “PierPass 2.0,” won’t require appointments for individual import containers being picked up from peel-off piles. Trucking companies and cargo owners will continue to arrange for a single time window to pick up entire blocks of containers going to the same company or destination from a single container terminal.
   A Q&A about the revised OffPeak program is available here.