Rival Ocean Carriers ‘Wait and See’ on Results of Maersk’s Chassis Fee Plan
By Rip Watson, Senior Reporter
This story appears in the Aug. 24 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.
Maersk Line’s move to start charging truckers for use of its container chassis is being watched closely by the biggest ocean carrier’s competitors, although none of them have yet followed suit.
Earlier this month, Maersk began charging an $11 daily fee, saying it would encourage truckers to be more efficient in their chassis use and thereby reduce emissions. The program operates at the Port of New York/New Jersey, but the company said it plans to make the program nationwide.
“We are observing it [the fee plan] and are interested in the outcome,” Ed Zaninelli, a vice president at Orient Overseas Container Line, told Transport Topics on Aug. 17. “I am sure there will be interest from all of the lines.
“We have no position on it at this time,” Zaninelli continued. “It’s a tough issue to comment on since they are only two weeks down the road with this program. We want to see if the program works and if they can reduce cost.”
“As far as I know, the other carriers are in ‘wait and see’ mode,” said Bill Rooney, senior vice president of Hanjin Shipping, another marine vessel operator.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimated in 2008 that the chassis fleet totals about 850,000 nationwide, with ocean carriers and lessors owning nearly 90% of them. Railroads and truckers own the rest.
“It all comes back to the major challenge of having chassis in North America, when they don’t have to be provided anywhere else in the world,” Zaninelli said, noting that truckers own the chassis used for container freight deliveries everywhere else in the world.
“All the [ocean] carriers are faced with the reality of having to keep their costs down,” said Greg Tuthill, senior vice president at NYK Line. “It is getting extremely costly to provide that equipment. They are looking at ways to push the cost of the assets back to some of the other stakeholders.”
Tuthill said that NYK and other ocean carriers are part of the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association, an industry group that encourages creation of chassis pools that can save money by improving efficiency.
“The truth is it is not about the money,” Maersk spokeswoman Mary Ann Kotlarich told TT. “It is about changing the industry to the global best practices in order to achieve environmental and operational efficiencies that will benefit everyone.”
“Competitors or other lines may adopt similar models,” she said, noting the program continues to operate without difficulty. “The draymen will use the least expensive option. We welcome and encourage others to adopt this model.”
One possibility, Tuthill told TT, was that OCEMA could levy a fee once pools are in place at all U.S. ports. At present, the largest U.S. ports such as Los Angeles, Long Beach and New York/New Jersey don’t have pools that are the primary chassis providers.
OOCL, NYK and Hanjin are among the world’s 10 largest ocean carriers. Others in that group, such as Neptune Orient Lines/American President Lines declined to comment or didn’t respond to requests for their views.
“There is a huge coverall cost savings if truckers owned chassis like they do everywhere else in the world,” Zaninelli added. “It would be extremely efficient.”
Based on the $11 a day fee, and an 80% utilization of its 5,000 chassis in the Port of New York/New Jersey, the program would produce about $16 million in annual revenue.
A complicating fact in North America is that many truckers aren’t exclusively intermodal carriers and haul both trailers and containers, Zaninelli said, giving them little economic incentive to purchase chassis.
Jeff Bader, president of the Association of Bi-State Motor Carriers, told TT “they [Maersk] are considering a reduction of the rate, which would be a nice thing to do.”
Kotlarich said the company had no current plans to lower the fee.
(Click here for previous coverage.)
