PierPass chief briefs Port of Long Beach on initial operations

PierPass chief briefs Port of Long Beach on initial operations    In a report to the Long Beach Harbor Commission Monday, PierPass chief Bruce Wargo said shipper participation in the night gate operations plan at the nation's busiest port complex has exceeded expectations in the first two weeks.
   PierPass assesses a $40 fee for each TEU moved out of the ports Monday through Thursday during daytime hours, a charge levied to help terminal operators recoup costs for staffing and equipping night truck gates.
   PierPass officials said that 28 percent of all eligible containers moved at night in the first two weeks, well above projections of 15 to 20 percent for the first year of the program.
   However, rumblings of trucker unrest continue, with truckers under contract to one bonded warehousing firm that services the port sitting out last week to protest a lack of extra pay for night hours.
   Some trucking companies have begun to charge shippers a nighttime surcharge of $50 to $70 per haul if they want to move their goods to avoid the PierPass fee ($80 for a typical 40-foot-container). About $25 to $30 of that nighttime surcharge is finding its way back to the truckers.