PierPass Launches Effort to Reduce 'Trouble Tickets'

The non-profit company created by port terminal operators in Los Angeles and Long Beach, PierPass, announced an initiative to reduce the number of transaction problems experienced when trucks pick up or deliver containers at the marine terminals. The "trouble tickets" cause substantial delays in container movement through the terminals, it said, and about 5% of all transactions at terminals result in trouble tickets, on average adding about an hour to the "turn time."

PierPass said it surveyed terminal operators at Long Beach and Los Angeles to determine the most common causes of trouble tickets, and found that they usually are tied to inaccurate or incomplete information about an import container delivery or an export booking problem.

"Trucking companies can avoid most trouble tickets and reduce turn times by checking with the terminals' web-based systems before coming to the terminal gates," said PierPass President Bruce Wargo. "These systems let dispatchers confirm the availability of import containers or the validity of export booking numbers before prematurely sending a truck to the terminal." PierPass is distributing a fact sheet with tips on trouble-ticket prevention.