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July 29th, 2005

PierPass Delays Peak Fee, Again!

PierPass has again delayed collection of the peak-period traffic mitigation fee in Los Angeles-Long Beach until the 3 a.m. shift on Friday in order to give programmers time to upgrade the computer system to handle the growing volume of transactions in the extended gates program.

PierPass was scheduled to begin collecting the fee on Monday but has twice delayed it as it works to upgrade its computer system. PierPass stated if shippers are going to be penalized for daytime transactions, PierPass wants to feel confident the system is working efficiently.

At the same time, truckers this week reported continued delays at some terminals staffed by inexperienced union gate clerks. PierPass as well as the individual terminal operators are addressing the problems, said Bruce Wargo of PierPass. "We still maintain that the overall trend of using the OffPeak program will continue to grow and operations will become more efficient as more teams get used to the new system," he said.

Until this program is more efficient, shippers should be prepared to experience delays and additional costs, such as demurrage.

Please be advised, FMI will not be responsible for any demurrage charges that are caused as a result of the inefficiencies of the terminal operators during the phase-in period of this program.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your FMI sales representative or contact us at 732-750-9000.