Dive Brief:
- The Oakland International Container Terminal is making evening operations permanent according to a recent press release from the Port of Oakland. This announcement caps a successful three-month trial of extended hours. Night hours reduced pressure on the busier daytime operations at the terminal.
- Data show that there is improvement of flow as about 1.300 transactions have migrated from day to evening, allowing for reduced transaction time and congestion pricing.
- The expanded hours are financed with a $30 transaction fee. The success of the expanded hours at the Oakland International Container Terminal has inspired TraPac, another Oakland Port, to experiment with extended night hours.
Dive Insight:
Traditional operational processes need to evolve to meet the needs of customers and suppliers. Logistics is under increased pressure to maximize the flow of materials in the end-to-end supply chain and the ports need to keep up with their end of the bargain to increase flow of materials. Data from this trial shows a smoother flow and lack of congestion, significantly improving port efficiency.
Certainly expanded hours come with a cost in transactional charges and labor. But is seems to many customers to be worth the additional charges in exchange for a smoother pick-up and less wait time. Issues may occur on the employee side, with some resistance of port personnel and truckers to evening hours, but these things have a way of being ironed out. The global economy never closes. It looks like the ports are beginning to make that realization as well.
