b'6American Journal of Transportation ajot.comChassis-management innovationsprovidingCPP Investments to a partial solution to supply-chain congestion acquire Ports America Interoperablepools,groundedterminalsanddigitaltechnologiescan speedcargocyclesandpromotemoreefficientutilizationofchassis,interest from Oaktreetrucks and terminals. Canada Pension Plan Invest- of the Ports America.By Peter Buxbaum, AJOT mentBoard(CPPInvest- Since its founding in 1921, ments)hasenteredintoPortsAmericahasdrivena The supply chain is calledoperateonacommonplat- can pick up and drop off theadefinitiveagreementtocenturysworthofinnovation thatforareason.Itsmadeform and dont have commonequipment wherever they needbecomethe100%ownerofin stevedoring, cargo handling, upofmanylinks,allofprocedures for metrics. Its ato within the network. AnyPortsAmerica(theCom- and best-in-class terminal oper-whicharedependentuponpartialsolutiontotheprob- box can be picked up by anypany), North Americas larg- ations. Today, Ports America is the others if the whole is tolem. motor carrier from any facil- est marine terminal operator,the largest terminal operator in operate efficiently.CCMoperatestotallyityanddroppedoffatanythrough the acquisition of anNorthAmerica,withdiversi-So, when reports surfaceinteroperablechassispools,operating facility in the net- interest from funds managedfied operations across the coun-ofchassisshortagesinsea- providingabettersolution,work, said Wilson. Theyreby Oaktree Capital Manage- try,including70locationsin ports and at intermodal ramps,according to Wilson. It helpsnot wasting time hunting forment, L.P. (Oaktree). 33 ports on each of the United you can be sure that its notmaketrucksandterminalstherightchassisormovingCPPInvestments,whichStates three coasts. The Com-just about chassis. That beingbecomemoreefficientbythem around. In non-interop- has interests in a number ofpanyannuallyhandles13.4 said,itsentirelylikelythatincreasing cargo velocity, heerablepools,chassiscaninfrastructurerelatedprop- million twenty-foot equivalent chassis management in Northsaid,andallowingthemtobeusedonlyforspecificerties,hasbeenanexistingunits (TEUs), including 10 mil-Americacouldstandsomehandle more cargo per cycle. containerlinesandmustbeminorityinvestorinPortslion tons of general cargo, 2.5 improvement. The supply chainIn CCMs grey or util- dropped off and picked up atAmerica since 2014 and willmillion vehicles and1.7mil-could also benefit from someity-stylechassispools,ship- specific locations. continue to support the busi- lioncruiseshippassengers. expansion of the chassis fleet,persandcarrierscontribute(SOLUTIONcontinued onnesswithlong-termcapital(ACQUIREcontinued on butthatsbeingimpededbychassis to the pool, and thenpage 7) and continuity of ownershippage 8)Trump-era trade policies that havebeenextendedbythe Biden administration.In the congestion-snarled Port of Los Angeles, turn time for chassis reached 8.5 days, 70% above the historic norm, accordingtoGeneSeroka, the ports executive director, at a recent journalists brief-ing. Container dwell time at terminalsreached5.3days, and8.3daysonthestreet. Serokaestimatedthateach additional day of dwell-time requires 3,500 more chassis. CLOSEREast Coast ports are also not immune to chassis short-ages.InAugust,Maersk reportedthatatNewarkter-minals chassis continued to be a limiting factor, and that a surge in import cargo will mostlikelyexacerbatethe chassis issue. ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER IN WASHINGTON STATEP lAtforms AndP ools rep- FASTERAbouthalfthechassis used at the ports of Los Ange-les and Long Beach belong to a pool of pools, with others beinghandledbyprivate poolsormanagedbytruck-ers. That state of affairs resents a suboptimal way ofDIRECT CONNECTIONS TO MAINLINE RAIL & INTERSTATE HIGHWAYSmanaging the equipment, accord- SMARTERing to Mike Wilson, CEO of ConsolidatedChassisMan-agement (CCM).The pool of pools oper-atinginSouthernCalifornia sharesassetsbutthatsall, saidWilson.Theydont STORAGE OPTIONS & FOREIGN TRADE ZONE SPACEBETTERON-DOCK RAIL & DUAL-SERVED BY BNSF & UPCONTACT US AT [email protected] | PORTOFLONGVIEW.COMMike Wilson, CEO of Consolidated Chassis Management'