Hyundai to stop supplying chassis in U.S.

Hyundai to stop supplying chassis in U.S.    Hyundai Merchant Marine said it will implement a new policy of no longer supplying chassis in the United States.
   The company said the change is “in effort to improve operational efficiencies, reduce pollution and allow quicker turnaround times at inland depots, ocean terminals and rail facilities.”
   Effective Nov. 1, Hyundai said it will no longer provide chassis in Worchester and Baltimore, Mass; Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pa; Buffalo, N.Y; and Miami. It said it would expand the policy to the rest of the country in the upcoming year.
   'The new policy will make the international and local supply chain function more efficiently,' said Lamont Petersen, marketing vice president at Hyundai. 'Turning the responsibility for chassis to owner-operators and drayage companies will provide greater flexibility for the trucker, reduce terminal congestion plus minimize the environmental impact of fleets of idling trucks. This policy just makes sense on many levels.'
   Hyundai joins a number of companies that have announced plans to stop routinely providing chassis for port-to-port moves of containerized cargo, including Hanjin, ACL, CMA CGM, NYK, OOCL and Evergreen. Maersk Line last year decided to stop providing chassis, and created an independent subsidiary, Direct Chassis Link, to lease chassis to truckers.