Maersk is collaborating with the California-based Harbor Trucking Association (HTA) to manage the 2020 transpacific peak season, which has created challenges for many landside logistics providers.
HTA’s membership of more than 15,000 truck drivers performs the important role of harbor trucking from ports to warehouses and distribution centres, which is essential to supply chain success, according to Maersk.
“Every week brings new volumes, new challenges and opportunities so it is essential we collaborate effectively with our HTA partners. We are exploring short-term and long-term solutions with all our key stakeholders to address the situation,” said Narin Phol, Maersk North America’s regional managing director.
Maersk is in daily contact with the Harbor Trucking Association and keeps a meeting cadence with Weston LaBar, the president of the association to hear and share feedback on terminal performance such as truck gates, appointment systems, empty returns and ways to optimise the trucker experience of HTA members.
Maersk’s APM Terminals Pier 400 Los Angeles, the largest privately-operated container terminal in North America, plays a key role in the daily flow of cargo with the trucking community.
Working daily with Labar, the terminal is focused on dual transactions, which enable a trucker to return an empty container and pick up an import container for local delivery, said Maersk in its announcement.
“Some 65% of Pier 400’s gate transactions are dual transactions – and the goal is to increase this, enabling higher productivity trips for harbour truckers. Pier 400 is also offering late night, Friday gates from 6:00pm – 3:00am and Saturday gates 8:00am – 4:00pm based on customer and trucker needs during peak season,” explained the Danish carrier.
Maersk operates in the 2M Alliance, which consists of two ocean carriers, Maersk and MSC, and two ports in the Los Angeles-Long Beach complex. “This ease of use by truckers allows them to efficiently pickup and return containers to two ports located very near each other,” said Maersk.
Plus, the 2M port in Long Beach, MSC’s TTI, offers truckers one of the best appointment systems in the harbour to support their daily planning and time management – as well as Saturday gates, according to a statement.
Furthermore, Maersk’s regional head of transportation, Bill Peratt, based in Los Angeles, sits on the Harbor Trucking Association productivity committee chaired by Weston LaBar, to lend his voice to finding solutions to the trucking industry’s challenges using his harbour-wide experience and relationships from APM Terminals Pier 400 operations, Maersk Warehousing & Distribution management and truck operations management.
