Port of New York and New Jersey Stakeholders Release Port Performance Task Force Report

On Jun 24, 2014

The Port Performance Task Force today released its report, which consists of 23 recommendations that if implemented will reduce truck congestion and air emissions in the Port of New York and New Jersey, improve customer service for truckers and other port stakeholders, and enhance the flow of goods from the port to the marketplace.  A new group of port stakeholders – the Council on Port Performance – will be formed to immediately begin the task of implementing the recommendations.

Nearly 100 port partners representing all sectors of the industry – including the New York Shipping Association, International Longshoremen’s Association, National Retail Federation, ocean carriers, importers and exporters, terminal operators, chassis providers and trucking companies – developed the recommendations over the past six months following extensive analysis, discussion and collaboration.

The Task Force was created by the Port Authority in conjunction with the New York Shipping Association in December 2013 to identify challenges and examine broad long-term recommendations to improve service reliability and efficiency in the port.  The Task Force also explored ways to address more immediate issues.

The recommendations include:

• Development of a model to improve the management of truck chassis in the port.
• Development of a Truck Management System to meter truck arrival rates, which would reduce congestion and resulting air emissions, decrease truck turn times and improve terminal productivity.
• The coordination of gate hours at all of the privately operated terminals serving the port.
• The use of Radio-Frequency Identification, or RFID, technology to measure and report on various truck movement times, including turn times on the terminal, queue times at terminal entrance gates and traffic on port roadways.
• Improved customer service at the terminals to assist truckers with transactions and other questions.

The Task Force was led by Port Authority Port Commerce Director Richard Larrabee and John Nardi, President of the New York Shipping Association.  Five working groups were established – Intermodal Equipment, Drayage Operations, Terminal Optimization, Express Rail and Government/Community Outreach – to address a diverse set of concerns related to port productivity and performance.  Senior staff members from the Port Authority facilitated each working group, which consisted of 10 to 15 industry experts from the port community.

While the report was being developed, port stakeholders began to address improvements for moving cargo on and off port terminals by hiring 274 new workers to the labor force, adding new container handling equipment, establishing longer operating hours, increasing the availability of chassis and authorized the hiring of 100 new officers in Customs and Border Protection.

The recommendations are geared toward ensuring the Port of New York and New Jersey remains the leading destination for international shippers on the East Coast.  The Port Authority has invested or authorized approximately $4 billion in port infrastructure in the last 10 years, including $1.3 billion to raise the roadway of the Bayonne Bridge, which support 296,000 jobs and $12 billion in economic activity that the port generates.

All port users and stakeholders are invited to attend a town hall meeting at 10 a.m. on July 15 at the Newark Liberty Airport Marriott, 1 Hotel Road, Newark. The town hall meeting is an opportunity for Task Force members to discuss the recommendations from the five working groups and to hear the public’s perspective on the report. A similar town hall meeting also will be held on Staten Island.

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