Customer Advisory: Revised OffPeak Schedule at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach

OffPeak, the program established by PierPASS in 2005 to reduce congestion and air pollution in and around the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, released a revised schedule for marine terminal operators at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The revised schedule follows a March 12 announcement that the terminal operators at the Ports of LA and Long Beach would each eliminate one OffPeak shift per week due to declining cargo volume.

Each terminal operator will maintain four OffPeak shifts per week. The revised schedule is effective the week of April 6.

Specific to OOCL/Grand Alliance cargo :  

• Long Beach Container Terminal Inc (LBCTI) PierPASS gates are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening shifts, and Saturday day shift. The Thursday evening gate is being eliminated.
  
  
• Yusen Terminal Inc (YTI) PierPASS gates are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening shifts, and Saturday day shift. The Thursday evening gate is being eliminated.
  
  
• APM Terminal PierPASS gates are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evening shifts, and Saturday day shift. The Wednesday evening gate is being eliminated.

With the dramatic drop in cargo volume amid the economic crisis, terminal operators were forced to take measures to reduce their operational costs. Following an independent analysis of costs for the OffPeak program, the marine terminal operators concluded the best short-term solution was to initiate a revised OffPeak schedule at the terminals. The decision was announced March 12.

“We encourage all industry members to visit the PierPASS website and familiarize themselves with the new OffPeak schedule,” said Bruce Wargo, President and CEO of PierPASS. “I am confident that the revised schedule is the most flexible solution at this time and ensures the continued viability of the OffPeak program when the economy strengthens.”

Four terminals will close during the Thursday night OffPeak shift; eight terminals will close during the Saturday OffPeak shift; and one terminal will close during the Wednesday night OffPeak shift. 

The revised schedule is available at http://www.pierpass-tmf.org/

With the implementation of the OffPeak program in 2005, all international container terminals in the two ports established five new shifts per week (Monday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.). As an incentive to use the OffPeak shifts and to cover the added cost of the shifts, a Traffic Mitigation Fee (“TMF”) is required for most cargo movement during peak hours (Monday through Friday, 3 a.m. to 6 p.m.). The program is administered by PierPASS, a not-for-profit company created by marine terminal operators at the ports to address multi-terminal issues such as congestion, security and air quality.

For more information, please go to http://www.pierpass.org/ 

Should you have any questions or require assistance with regards to this advisory or your shipment needs, contact OOCL Customer Service in USA or Canada at 1-888-388-6625.