Port of Long Beach to open empty container storage site to attack congestion

In an effort to beat back congestion that has paralyzed the Southern California port complex, the Port of Long Beach in two weeks will open a temporary 30-acre site for empty containers aimed at freeing up chassis.

The temporary depot — to be operated by Pasha Stevedoring and Terminals — is on vacant, undeveloped property on Pier S on Terminal Island. Congestion at the port’s marine terminals necessitates additional space to store empty containers so trucks can more efficiently drop them off and take their chassis, the port believes.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners voted on Thursday to create the depot, dubbed “Temporary Empty Container Depot.” Pasha’s permit to operate the site expires at the end of March.

“We hear our customers loud and clear. This congestion is not acceptable, and the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners is ensuring that the Port of Long Beach is doing everything it can to see that we clear up these issues now and forever,” commission President Doug Drummond in a statement issued Thursday.

The Port of Los Angeles has also identified off-dock sites in the harbor area where empty containers can be stored, where chassis can be stored or repaired, and loaded containers can be trucked to as soon as they are unloaded from ships. A Port of Los Angeles told JOC.com on Saturday: “We haven’t opened anything up yet but we are moving in that direction.”

As part of a larger effort to reduce congestion, the four companies that control about 95 percent of the chassis at Los Angeles-Long Beach plan to launch a neutral, or gray chassis pool in February