MTMC TO SHIFT TO LEASING CONTAINERS

MTMC TO SHIFT TO LEASING CONTAINERS    The U.S. Military Traffic Management Command, in a major policy shift, will turn to leasing containers from a single commercial contractor, rather than operating its own fleet of 10,000 boxes.
   Maj. Gen. Kenneth L. Privratsky, commander of the MTMC, decided last week to open the command's container management operations to a single contractor, as soon as Oct. 1, 2002.
   The contractor will be responsible for maintaining a specified number of containers at key facilities and geographic locations and providing leased assets, and replacing them as they are shipped.
   The contract will provide a challenge for the winning bidder, as the MTMC's containers and its ammunition moves one way, and containers once delivered may remain overseas for prolonged periods of time, where they're used for purposes other than moving ammunition, the MTMC said.
   Containers in the MTMC fleet average about 12 years old, and as many as one-fourth of the boxes are considered unserviceable for meeting ammunition hauling standards.
   Bidding out the container management will allow the MTMC to cut staff associated with the container program from 37 to six. The boxes will be either transferred to other military uses, disposed of or be offered for non-transportation uses, such as storage.
   The MTMC's decision was based on a business case analysis performed by Logistics Management Institute of McLean, Va.