UP partners with OCEMA to develop inland chassis pool

UP partners with OCEMA to develop inland chassis pool    Union Pacific Railroad Tuesday said it has signed a strategic agreement with the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association to launch the rail industry's first inland cooperative truck chassis pool in the United States.
   The agreement supports terminal efficiency for international shipping operations by improving equipment availability, UP said.
   Under the agreement, 16 international customers that belong to the new cooperative will consolidate their truck chassis into a fleet that will be managed in a “chassis pool.” The chassis pool manager is responsible for inspection, maintenance, repairs, interchange and inventory control, helping carriers reduce the cost of customers having to purchase and track their own individual chassis.
   “This cooperative effort is a creative way of handling business that benefits customers, truckers and railroads,” said Barry Michaels, UP assistant vice president-premium operations, in a statement.
   The co-op truck chassis pool was established in December 2005 at the Denver Intermodal Facility. Benefits of the collaboration include:
   * Reduction in the truck chassis inventory.
   * Reduction in labor managing the chassis fleet.
   * Terminal efficiencies like driver turn times.
   UP plans to expand the co-op chassis pool model to 11 additional locations within the next two years, for a total of about 70,000 truck chassis. Near-term, the company will implement the next chassis pools at intermodal facilities in Salt Lake City, Utah and Marion, Ark.