FlexiVan and the North American Chassis Pool Cooperative (NACPC) announced the establishment of a new cooperative chassis pool for the Port of New York and New Jersey. The pool is expected to commence operations during the first quarter of 2018.
The Open Choice Equipment Agreement – Northeast (OCEA-N) is a port-wide gray chassis pool servicing major cargo, freight and equipment handling facilities in the port complexes of New York and New Jersey.
OCEA-N will be governed by the NACPC FlexiVan Chassis Pool, LLC and operated by a single pool manager. It will be open to participation and contribution by any other equipment providers that meet the basic contributory requirements.
OCEA-N is designed to meet the requirements voiced by NY/NJ users and stakeholders, namely:
- Contributory pool that is open to participation by any qualifying chassis supplier
- Fully interoperable chassis fleet with port-wide coverage
- “Open Choice” allows all users to negotiate with and select the chassis provider of their choice
- Premium equipment – Radials and LED
- Business rules that encourage continued equipment upgrades
Open choice refers to the right of a motor carrier or shipper to select their preferred chassis provider. As an example, most pools operate under ‘box rules’ where the ocean carrier dictates the chassis provider (both for carrier haulage and merchant haulage moves), even when they are not responsible for the costs. OCEA-N does not prevent or limit choice, but rather the motor carrier, BCO or other responsible parties are free to select the chassis provider of their choice.
Dave Manning, President of NACPC said, “We believe the Port of NY/NJ and its stakeholders desire a long term chassis solution that facilitates greater operational efficiency, ensures fair competition and lower operating cost to motor carriers. We feel that OCEA-N meets these objectives better than any other current or proposed chassis supply model. Motor Carriers can now leverage their business to negotiate more favorable terms and conditions. OCEA-N operates with only one condition; if you are responsible for supplying the chassis, you are free to name any participating provider as your supplier.”
Stan Portlock, Vice President of Pool Operations at FlexiVan states, “Currently, motor carriers are forced to use privately owned or leased fleets in order to avoid inflated costs. This in turn interferes with port efficiency and work jurisdictions. Through competition, the OCEA-N structure allows costs for interoperable pool chassis to be comparable with private fleets.”
OCEA-N and FlexiVan’s NERP pool will be interoperable on day one. It is hoped that other chassis pool operators will also agree to participate within the OCEA-N pool and thereby provide the NY/NJ port with a single port-wide grey pool, yielding the same advantages to all stakeholders.
