PierPass Working on US West Coast

A report on the plan that encourages shifting cargo moves at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to off-peak hours says the program is working. It has been three years since it was launched and PierPass has now accounted for its nine millionth off-peak truck move.

The share of off-peak moves for non-exempt traffic increased from 30% shortly after inception to about 45% currently, says the report by BST Associates.

PierPass was developed to reduce highway and port congestion by shifting more truck moves at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach from peak daytime hours to evenings and Saturdays. In a typical week, off-peak moves average 68,000 truck moves.

Under the program, a Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) of $50 per twenty-foot-equivalent unit (TEU) is charged on loaded non-intermodal containers that enter or leave the terminals during daytime peak hours. That fee supports the off-peak operations.

The BST report concludes that without the TMF to provide an incentive for off-peak moves, much of that traffic would shift back to peak hours.

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