In a move to improve the efficiency of freight movement into and out of Southern California ports, Harbor Trucking Association (HTA) and California Trucking Association (CTA) recently appealed to two major port leaders in regard to creating an interoperable appointment system. They suggest that this will result in lower costs as well as improved productivity across all 12 container terminals if implemented successfully — currently truckers have up seven different reservation systems they must use at Los Angeles/Long Beach alone.
“HTA and CTA applaud Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach leadership for recent efforts to develop a single appointment system and technology for enhanced transparency and efficiency,” said the associations leadership in a January letter to the executive directors of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. “For a single appointment system to be successful, data must be shared into an interoperable system and terminals must agree on common and consistent business practices to provide motor carriers with capacity planning capabilities.”
Executives from the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach have expressed openness to unifying trucker platforms in order to increase supply chain efficiency. However, it will be up to marine terminal operators whether or not they decide to move forward on this proposal that could benefit drivers while increasing system fluidity, according to Tom O’Brien of California State University-Long Beach’s Center for International Trade and Transportation.
In the wake of Covid-19, ports have experienced an unprecedented influx in container volume – over 20 million. Stephen Lyons, national supply chain envoy for the Biden administration is aiming to modernize and improve port efficiency amid expectations that this trend will continue. To ignite growth through revitalization efforts against these odds, The Harbor Trucking Association (HTA) alongside with California Trucking Association (CTA) noted a massive opportunity at hand as they relayed their motivation on taking action immediately.
Source: thetruckrsreport
