Port of Oakland has agreed a long term lease for an off-dock drayage yard that lets a trucker collect a container in under 15 minutes.
The Port of Oakland has announced a new 13-year lease for Shippers Transport Express (STE) to operate a 32 acre off dock logistics facility at the Port’s Seaport Logistics Complex through 2032.
STE is a subsidiary of SSA Marine, the largest container terminal operator in Oakland by volume. SSA Marine has embraced the use of off-dock drayage yards that put containers directly on chassis for the shipper to collect, rather than retrieving the container from an RTG stack when the trucker arrives at the terminal. STE operates at four locations on the US West Coast, including Oakland.
The new lease will enable STE to continue to offer its “express” service in Oakland. “Shippers Transport Express hauls 400 loaded import containers off the terminal every night,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. "That frees up space at the terminal for additional cargo and makes it easy to collect those containers for delivery.” The facility is just one mile from the terminal, but the difference in gate time is significant: under 15 minutes compared to approximately 75 minutes at the main terminal.
“Import relocations are part of Oakland’s strategy to hasten cargo flow”, the Port said. “Other elements include night gates for truckers to ease daytime crowding and appointment systems for cargo pick-up. The strategy has cut significantly into truck driver transaction times that once extended beyond two hours”.
STE will pay an average of US$4M in rent per annum for the site over the term of the lease, and the port will spend US$7M on paving the land for container parking.
Source: WorldCargo News