PierPASS surveys show efficiency at terminals, overall support from truck drivers

Operations within terminals during the new OffPeak shifts at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are as efficient as daytime shifts, a new survey by PierPASS Inc. shows. Trucks arriving to pick up or drop off containers during OffPeak shifts are spending less than 30 minutes on average inside the terminal gates, comparable to peak-hour turn times during the week surveyed. Once outside the gates, the trucks are able to travel in relatively light nighttime and Saturday traffic during the OffPeak shifts.

The OffPeak program, created by PierPASS, established night and Saturday shifts at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to relieve congestion in and around the ports. In its first four weeks of operation, the program diverted more than 188,000 truck trips out of peak-hour weekday traffic.

In a separate survey, a majority of the 126 truck drivers interviewed by PierPASS said they have experienced an improvement in traffic flow since the OffPeak program began on July 23, and said the program has allowed them to make more cargo deliveries in a shift.

In the turn-time survey, PierPASS obtained data from a majority of the 12 terminals participating in OffPeak. The survey, conducted the week of August 15, showed an average turn time of slightly under 30 minutes, faster than the 35- to 40-minute turn times during the first two weeks of the program. The terminals tracked the net time from when a truck enters the terminal to when it leaves. These figures are for single transactions, and exclude non-working hours such as meal breaks. Averages at individual terminals varied.

"The 12 terminals participating in the OffPeak program are processing an average of nearly two trucks per minute per terminal," said PierPASS Inc. President and CEO Bruce Wargo. "We believe that the combination of efficient terminal operations with lighter traffic on the highways makes cargo transportation a better process for all parties involved."