New PierPass Program Announced for LA/LB

Yesterday PierPass announced a major overhaul of the program—PierPass2.0. After 18 months of meetings and analysis, the new program has been rolled out. The goal is to continue to mitigate congestion and “peak” hour truck traffic at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, but with a more flexible approach. The new program is pending final approval but is expected to go into effect in August of this year. The current program offers a lower cost for weekday nighttime users of the ports and charges daytime (peak) users a TMF (Traffic Mitigation Fee) of $72.09 per TEU (twenty foot unit). The new program will be based on a flat fee charged for all containers—at a lower rate of $31.52 per TEU, and $63.04 for all other container sizes. The goal is to lower the per-TEU cost while still paying for the extended gate hours and a two shift structure at the ports. The new program also stipulates that assigned appointments will be given for gate moves within a two shift period with the goal to spread the appointments evenly throughout the shifts. No fee will be charged for empty containers.

Mario Cordero, Port of Long Beach Executive Director, spoke about this change at a conference last week attended by WSSA. Mr. Cordero stated, “We, as well as the trucking community and all of our stakeholders, look forward to increased cargo velocity and customer responsiveness at Port facilities.”

Port users and those in the industry are eager to see how this system will improve truck traffic at the ports. We at WSSA will monitor the impact of this new system and keep you informed of any changes that take place surrounding its implementation. For more information on the new program, visit the PierPass website!