Global shipping leader APL, the world's fifth-largest container carrier, is also one of the industry's best terminal operators. That seems to be the consensus of truckers from coast-to-coast that call daily at APL's US facilities.
For the fifth time this decade, a harbor trucking association honored APL for terminal excellence. In this case, the award came from the Southern California-based Harbor Truckers for a Sustainable Future. They recognized APL's Global Gateway South as the Most Efficient Marine Terminal at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
'When truckers come through our gate, they are our customers and we've got to treat them well and get them back on the road quickly,' said Nathaniel 'Than' Seeds, Vice President of Operations in The Americas for APL. 'So awards such as this one are a great source of satisfaction for APL.'
Twice this decade, the California Truckers Association has named Global Gateway South the Fastest and Best Overall Marine Terminal at the ports in Long Beach and Los Angeles. On two other occasions, the New Jersey-based Bi-State Motor Carriers hailed APL's South Kearny, NJ, container terminal as the Best Off-Pier Terminal in New York and New Jersey.
This honor was based on a survey of harbor truckers and motor carriers who work at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. They rated 14 Southern California marine terminals in categories such as gate queues, turn times and wait time at help windows.
APL's turn time ' the amount of time required for a trucker to complete a drop-off and pick-up in one trip ' was measured at 50 minutes. That's among the fastest at either port.
Terminal efficiency is critical on several fronts, said the harbor truckers in honoring APL. For one thing, it enables them to make more trips per day. That improves their earning potential.
Just as importantly, they said, efficient terminals cut down on truck idling at ports. That's essential in on-going efforts to reduce pollution from diesel engines.
In August, the Port of Los Angeles gave APL its Clean Air Action Plan Award for 'innovative operations and technologies that improve air quality.'
