Long Beach to store empties for $5 per day

Pasha’s congestion-overflow yard for empty containers at the Port of Long Beach is on track to open in two weeks    The Port of Long Beach’s temporary yard for storing empty containers to mitigate severe congestion at marine terminals could be open for business by Dec. 10, according to the man in charge of operating the facility. 
   Earlier this month, the Harbor Commission approved a contract with Pasha Stevedoring and Terminals to operate a depot on 30 acres of vacant land on Terminal Island’s Pier S, one of several quick fixes being implemented in an effort to immediately reduce long delays experienced by drayage drivers transferring loads.
   The empty container yard is intended to free up precious space within terminals for loaded containers and alleviate a shortage of chassis by allowing drivers to drop empties on their way to retrieve loaded import boxes. Many terminals are telling drivers that they can’t come in their facilities with empties. Large cargo owners, in turn, are being forced to house the empties at distribution centers, which reduces space for receiving containers loaded with imported merchandise.  
   The new storage yard will have capacity for 10,000 to 12,000 empties, depending on the type received and how the four-high stacks are configured, and will enable truck drivers to make four roundtrips per day compared to one or two moves, Jeff Burgin, senior vice president at Pasha Stevedoring, said in an interview.
   The system is designed to allow trucking companies to make quick turns, with traffic patterns and staging areas that enable a smooth traffic flow.
   “Our gates will be much faster than a normal container facility” because of the easier access, less paperwork, and crews not being pulled to other duties as they are at container terminals, he said. Pasha will only have to segregate boxes by shipping line and size. 
   The cost to store an empty box will be $5 per day. 
   Burgin said Pasha doesn’t expect to make a lot of money at that rate, but wants to help the port community deal with the bottlenecks in Los Angeles and Long Beach. Shuttle motor carriers and beneficial cargo owners appear eager to take advantage of the new facility, he added.
   The drop in port productivity is being blamed on a variety of factors, including strong pre-holiday volumes, the chassis imbalance, ultra-large vessels dropping concentrated amounts of containers, and ocean carrier alliances that cause inconsistent terminal usage because different underlying carriers each week call different terminals where they have pre-existing relationships. 
   The empty yard will be open and staffed by longshoremen based on orders received over the phone the previous day, but Pasha is prepared to run two shifts, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m., if demand warrants, Burgin told American Shipper. Pasha is bringing in a reach stacker and renting a top handler to lift and stack containers in the yard, and will have security on site to monitor the equipment.
   An available hotline will allow shippers and truckers to call in advance orders for container deliveries and make necessary billing arrangements. 
   The empty yard will also allow for better chassis utilization until a San Pedro Bay-wide “gray” pool is stood up by chassis leasing companies Flexi-Van and Direct ChassisLink Inc. sometime early next year. The “gray” pool will allow for the interchange of chassis throughout the port complex regardless of the unit’s ownership or terminal affiliation. Instead, Burgin said, the motor carrier’s dispatcher will match drivers using chassis contractually tied to a particular terminal with loads from that terminal rather than sending the driver to multiple terminals and having to make two additional stops  to swap out the wheeled frame. Drivers will enter the Pasha yard, get their empty container lifted off, and retain their chassis to make another revenue-bearing trip for a loaded box.
   “In today’s world, you don’t give up your chassis for anything because no one can find them,” Burgin said.
   Pasha, a subsidiary of The Pasha Group, operates a breakbulk terminal at the Port of Los Angeles. Although it handles modest quantities of containers, primary activity revolves around heavy-lift, project and specialized cargoes of all sizes and shapes. Burgin said the Long Beach port authority perceived Pasha as a neutral party well suited for running an overflow yard because it’s not a pure container terminal. 
   Pasha’s team has extensive experience with containers and understands that side of the industry “inside and out,” Burgin stressed.
   The lease for the empty yard runs through March 15, but Burgin suggested that it could be extended if demand is robust.
   “To tell you the truth, I think the peak season is here forever,” he said. Port of Long Beach officials have not committed to retaining the empty yard, but there is a strong possibility they keep it open or add other facilities for empties if there is enough business.
   The twin ports moved more than 14.5 million TEUs last year and are on pace to exceed that amount in 2014.
   Two weeks ago, the Pasha Group expanded further into the container business with the acquisition of Horizon Lines’ container operations between the West Coast and Hawaii. It also has a new container/roll-on, roll-off vessel scheduled for delivery soon that will operate on the Hawaii trade lane.