THE rise of trucking costs could hurt US President Biden’s off-site container storage plan, reports New York’s FreightWaves.
The plan was included in the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 to assess how it could be rolled out on a larger scale.
The act required the US Department of Transportation to convene a meeting with the US Maritime Administration (MarAd) and the US Federal Maritime Commission on using federal and other sites for storing and transferring containers from overstressed seaports.
The September 26 meeting was followed by a request for comments from the transportation industry to help assess an expansion of the concept.
‘While no port wants to have containers idling for excessive periods, moving certain containers inland via rail, barge, or other means can reduce the number of containers waiting for drayage and subsequently reduce truck and chassis congestion at the seaport itself,’ said American Association of Port Authorities (PA) CEO Chris Connor.
‘In that regard, inland ports are a helpful tool in the arsenal of methods ports can use to maintain fluidity.’
The South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) explained it has operated two inland ports for over 13 years that have moved exports and imports from its southeastern US seaports via intermodal rail.
‘Additional truck drivers, newer and more voluminous chassis fleets, enhanced logistic information exchange capabilities are also necessary, but unless they are provided in a cost competitive manner, they would not be prioritised over new space utilisation,’ said SCPA.
Taiwan-based Yang Ming Marine Transport declared it would consider using additional storage and transfer space in the US to mitigate congestion.
‘If the use of [an] inland port is comparably more costly and time-consuming than storing [at the port] terminal, and with the possible trucker /supply issue still not resolved, it’ll be challenging or even difficult to support it long term,’ said Yang Ming.
