Evergreen, NYK to Stop Providing Chassis in US

Peter T. Leach | Jul 15, 2010 9:29PM GMT The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story

Two lines join other carriers in phasing out service

Evergreen Line and NYK Line joined a growing list of carriers that are stopping providing chassis for import and export cargo in the United States.

Both carriers said Thursday they will start phasing out chassis in parts of the East Coast and gradually expand the program to the rest of the country.

Evergreen said it will stop providing chassis in Boston as of Aug. 15.

NYK said it will no longer provide chassis in Boston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Miami as of Aug. 1 for import and export bills of lading. It plans to extend the policy to Oakland as of Sept. 1 and to other parts of the country as the program evolves.

Both carriers said the move will improve operational efficiencies, free-up terminal space, reduce pollution, allow quicker turnaround times for truckers and for their customers.

The U.S. is the only country where ocean carriers provide chassis, and it is neither efficient nor economical to continue to do so, Evergreen Line said in a statement,

Maersk Line began charging drayage companies for use of its chassis in 2009 in the Port of New York and New Jersey and has since rolled the program out to ports and terminals throughout the rest of the country.

Atlantic Container Line stopped providing chassis June 1. OOCL announced July 1 that it will phase out providing chassis in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as of Sept. 1, and CMA CGM followed suit on July 8.

"Burgeoning world trade is impacting valuable waterfront terminal space, and projected growth of commerce makes the ongoing storage of chassis no longer viable," Evergreen said in its announcement Thursday.

"Limited expansion real estate availability mandates that chassis can no longer be maintained by the shipping companies. Drayage companies and owner-operators are fully qualified to manage and maintain chassis fleets with greater ease and cost-effectiveness, while providing the same standard level of service to the importers and exporters," the Taiwanese carrier said.

NYK said the change is designed to build efficiencies while minimizing the environmental impact of having a large number of chassis that are used intermittently and have to be stored and moved. The Japanese carrier said the "change will not only lower total cost but will also build greater flexibility for the trucker, minimizing inefficiencies in the performance of their daily work. In addition, the policy change will have an immediate impact on terminal congestion reducing turn time and ultimately providing a better product for the customer."