b'12American Journal of TransportationNOVEMBER 20 - DECEMBER 17, 2023(PROVIDERScontinuedevent, other supply shocks arewill never quite get the play from page 10) inevitable. Anditisstillanthat trucking, and drivers got but the other 44% of largelyopen question of whether theduring COVID [no one hold-marinechassisareinvolvedchassis fleet is large enoughing signs along the roadside: in carrying ocean containersto handle these wildly unpre- I love my chassis provider]. andthustheirutilizationisdictablemovementsintheInlinewiththehighpublic inherently connected to oceansupply and demand cycle. profilethechassisbusiness container terminal traffic. hasgarneredmoreattention Marine chassis utilizationa n ewa wareneSS ofiep S from investorsparticularly during the post-COVID surgeWhatadifferenceayearfrom the private equity sector, was over 90% and shortagesmakes or more to the point,which have had an interest in contributedtodisruptioninwhatadifferenceaplungethe sector for years.thesupplychainandaininternationaltrademakes.DCLIsownershipjour-lotofunhappycustomers.Chassis utilization is down toneymorethananyother Althoughitwasacountry- about 50% and there is barely aepitomizesprivateequity wide issue, the chassis short- murmur coming from disgrun- interestinthechassisbusi-age problem begins and endstled supply chain practitioners.ness. In 2022, GIC, OMERS with port congestion. ExportNonetheless,whiletheInfrastructure, and Wren House containerscouldntgetintokinksinthesupplychainhaveannouncedtheyinked the terminals [largely becausemaybestraightenedout[foran agreement to jointly acquire surgingimportswerethenow], there is still a lot goingDCLI.Theyinturnbought priority],thustheboxesononinthechassisbusiness.DCLIfrominvestmentfundschain of private equity involve- agedbyOaktreeCapital. thechassiswereunabletoOnethingthatcameoutofmanagedbyApolloandment might be a little longerCCMwasformerlyowned be grounded on the terminalthechassisboomassociatedEQT. Apollo acquired DCLIthan most but is not unusualby Ocean Carrier Equipment tarmac.Consequently,thewiththeenormousfreightfromaprivateequityfirmfor the sectorand privateManagement Association, Inc. chassis couldnt be turned andsurge coming out of COVIDEQTPartnersin2018. Andequitymightbeheatingup.(OCEMA),anassociation reintroduced back into circu- is the awareness that the chas- EQT in 2016 acquired DCLIInOctober,Consolidatedcomposed of ten international lation and without a free flowsis is a critical piece of logis- fromanotherprivateequityChassis Management (CCM)(PROVIDERScontinued ofchassis,thedemandfortic infrastructure. The chassisfirm, LittleJohn & Co. DCLIswas bought by the fund man- on page 14)chassis ratcheted up through-out the supply chain.Manyintheindustry shortageinthechassisfleetOSE.believetherewasalreadyaLand need of an overhaul before the post-COVID surge began, and the freight surge exacer-bated an existing problem. Thisisnottosaythere wasntaneffortalready underway to restock the chas- Wsis fleet. [For example, DirectAIT.ChassisLink(DCLI),oneof the largest intermodal equip-ment providers (IEP) in 2020 invested $85 million in a chas-sisrefurbishmentprogram. And announced in 2022 that ithadinvested$1billionin additionsandenhancements. AnothermajorIEP,TRAC Intermodalwroteithad invested a billion dollars since it began renewing and grow-ing the chassis fleet in 2015.] But fleet investments aside, there was a lot of ground to makeupwithaninventory largelycomposedofolder existingchassisduringthe COVID period.Nowwiththepost-COVID fall in marine chas-sisutilization,thepriceof chassishasfallen.Accord-ing to sources, at the peak of demand,newchassiswere goingforover$23,000and now$18,000orless.But restocking in a down market isntaslamdunkaslower revenues for the IEPs accom-pany lower replacement costs. Still there is the belief that the current period will see a sig-nificant uptick in investment. TracIntermodalinaMay 2023Casestudy:Evolu-tion of Chassis Pool Models opined, Despite import vol-umes trending lower in recent months,TRACanticipates that2023willbearecord yearforequipmentinvest-ment. ThisfollowsarecordCOMING JULY 2023yearin2022,whenfleet investmentwasup130per- Things are moving fast at the Port of Savannah. cent over 2021 levels.While the explosive post- Were expanding Berth 1 to accommodate more big ships. COVIDfreightsurgewasThat means you trim the wait. Check it out. gaports.com/losewait/likely a once in a generation'