The Council on Port Performance (CPP) Equipment Implementation Team, whose members consist of The Port Authority of NY & NJ, Chassis Leasing Companies, Marine Terminals, International Longshoremen’s Association, Labor Associations, Trucker Associations, and Ocean Carriers, agreed on November 20th to implement a port-wide chassis pool in the Port of New York and New Jersey (PONYNJ),” said John Nardi, President of New York Shipping Association, who is serving as the Chairman of the Implementation Team. The team has selected the market pool model as the best option for efficient chassis provisioning in the Port of New York and New Jersey. A market pool, which is a type of gray chassis pool, can best be defined as various chassis providers contributing their chassis into one large fleet in the PONYNJ. All chassis would have the same mark and the pool would be managed at arm’s length by a third party under contract to a Pool Board. The Pool Board would be made up of representatives from each of the chassis contributors and others representing key supply chain stakeholders in the port. Users would have access by establishing a commercial contract with an individual chassis contributor. The commercial contract is not part of the market pool’s oversight or management but a market based competitive activity. Chassis contributors may offer unique products and services within private pools but this would be outside of the market pool at non-common locations in the New York/New Jersey region. This would allow for chassis contributors to compete for users on a variety of service dimensions while at the same time the market pool would offer operational efficiencies with full interoperability at all the port terminals throughout the port. Tom Adamski, from First Coast Logistics and the New Jersey Motor Truck Association’s representative on the Council and Implementation Team said that, “the free interchange of equipment is invaluable for truckers and improved port efficiency.” During the coming weeks, port stakeholders will draft a Request for Proposal for a Pool Manager detailing the qualifications and responsibilities to be considered. The RFP will be available in early December. If a suitable manager is identified, the market pool can be implemented by early 2nd quarter 2015. Phil Connors, Executive Vice President of Flexi-Van Leasing and a member of both the CPP and the Equipment Implementation Team, said he was very pleased to see the progress made within the team given the complexity of the chassis pool issue. “The discussions have been open, candid and most importantly collaborative throughout the process,” Connors said. “The Team believes this is a very positive step for the continued success of the Port of New York and New Jersey,” he added. Richard M. Larrabee, Port Commerce Department Director for The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Chair of the CPP said that implementing a Chassis Management System was a Tier One recommendation of the Port Performance Task Force and arguably the most critical one. “Several council members and other stakeholders worked tirelessly to get us to this critical milestone. The value of the CPP working in a collaborative advisory capacity cannot be overstated.”