SAVANNAH: The Georgia Ports Authority has extended its multiyear agreement with the South Atlantic Chassis Pool of Consolidated Chassis Management to provide the region with a “gray” chassis pool, a fleet of chassis that can be used by any trucking line to serve any port terminal in the Southeastern U.S. “The gray pool model works for the South Atlantic, and continues to meet and exceed our expectations for sufficient, safe chassis available at any time,” said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. “This new agreement secures the future of the gray pool in our region.”
Lynch said the arrangement provides shipping lines, trucking companies and cargo owners a level of confidence that chassis operations will remain consistent and reliable. “Other ports often have multiple, restricted pools,” he said. “In that type of operation, chassis may only be used to serve certain customers and must be returned to specific locations before work for another customer may begin.”
“A single gray chassis pool with full interchangeability improves both the efficiency and consistency of port operations,” said Jon Poelma, senior vice president of operations for CCM. “End customers can negotiate directly with the chassis provider of their choice and then select any chassis on terminal. Such flexibility in choice is difficult elsewhere due to a lack of a single pool serving the region. We are proud to be a part of GPA’s success and pleased to continue our longstanding relationship.” John Trent, GPA senior director of strategic operations and safety, said the common chassis fleet enhances port efficiency.
“The gray fleet is another example of our operational model: a single-terminal complex in which customers and cargo move effortlessly through our gates, maintenance and service areas,” Trent said. “Our value proposition is that we provide faster, more efficient and cost effective services on a larger scale than the competition.”
GPA’s agreement with the South Atlantic Chassis Pool includes allocating space to park chassis on terminal, for the convenience of motor carriers. “The gray pool accentuates the benefits of a common, single-terminal complex,” Lynch said. “The ‘one-stop shopping’ at our 1,200-acre Garden City Terminal is really the optimum in efficiency.” CCM was formed as an industry utility by the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association Inc., an association of 19 major international ocean carriers. CCM pools are based on a cooperative model developed by OCEMA that emphasizes low barriers to entry, service reliability, safety and cost effectiveness.
