The National Shipper Advisory Committee is seeking input from truckers and maritime terminals on what types of problems they face when operating inside a port, Debb Minskey, trade lane manager for Ikea Group, said during a March 5 committee meeting.
The task group aims to come up with some solutions to see how it can improve container throughput addressing three areas: early return date, empty container returns and availability of the container.
Starting with the Northwest Seaport Alliance, the Port Best Practices Subcommittee has formed a small task group to identify the processes that take place inside a port terminal. The purpose will be to discuss concepts and solutions for gateway performance and improvement. Eventually, the group would like to advance concepts through appropriate review from stakeholders for potential enactment, according to slides presented during the meeting.
At this time, there isn’t a clear timeline for next steps but the committee is planning monthly and bi-monthly meetings. It will move forward depending on the feedback and participation received, Minskey said. The subcommittee has already received input from shippers — also known as beneficial cargo owners, or BCOs — and next step is to reach out to marine terminals and truckers, according to Minskey who is also the chairman for the federal advisory committee.
“Ultimate goal, we want to see things improve, starting with the Northwest Seaport Alliance,” Minskey said. “Our ultimate hope is with our group that this can be something shared with other terminals.”
