IN THE NEWS: 'Tired' US Drayage Operators Looking For a Better Market This Year

The Loadstar
February 3, 2025
Ian Putzger

FROM THE ARTICLE: Drayage operators along the North American Eastern seaboard heaved a sigh of relief last month when port employers and labor averted a crippling strike – but some damage had already been done.

Cargo owners had diverted traffic in anticipation of a work stoppage. However, the road to a brighter future finally appears clear after a painful slog that decimated the ranks of drayage firms over the past couple of years.

The market is highly fragmented, with many small local firms, so the shifts in cargo flows due to port contract negotiations, first on the West Coast and then the East, meant a rollercoaster ride in a challenging market.
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On a brighter note, operating conditions are better than when box terminals and rail hubs were congested, observed Paul Brashier, VP of Global Supply Chain for ITS Logistics. Yard and chassis capacity had been expanded and processes implemented to make flows smoother, he said, pointing to the fact that the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as the rail network, had coped with large volume increases this winter without serious disruption.

At the peak of the volume crunch, a lack of chassis was another massive roadblock for container flows to and from ocean terminals. Today, with the congestion gone and more chassis added to the pool, there were no problems on that front, Mr. Brashier said. “We now have well over 100 EV trucks in LA/Long Beach, and we’re seeing some clients on the East Coast ask for solutions with zero- or near-zero-emission vehicles.”

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