Free Flow Drayage Increases 3PL Productivity in Los Angeles

Efficiency and faster productivity are the demands being asked by high-volume retailers of 3PL drayage companies at the Los Angeles Ports. NRS is answering those demands using the new free flow drayage program designed for high volume customers.

Free Flow Drayage in LA Speeding Things Up

As the economy continues to improve, the Los Angeles Ports are finding themselves congested with imported containers waiting to be offloaded and shipped to their final destination. The Los Angeles Ports are also still recovering from a debilitating nine month strike that left them unable to process containers efficiently.

The answer for high-volume customers, is to utilize a free flow drayage program offered by terminal operators established in Los Angeles to help move cargo out of terminals more rapidly and increase the pace of the LA terminals. The new program efficiently unloads and moves incoming containers to a dedicated predesigned area where containers are stored for a short time until a trucker can dray the container from the port.

Turn times have increased dramatically for high-volume shippers participating in the free flow drayage program.

Using this method, a shipper’s containers are stacked in one location at the port and ready to be picked up, enabling 3PL drayage companies to get containers out of the Ports more efficiently.

The free flow drayage program allows for greater efficiency at the Los Angeles Ports because containers from multiple high-volume shippers are grouped together. 3PL companies such as NRS are alerted when a container is available for pick-up and lets them know exactly where to find it and what its destination is along with all the other containers.

In an effort to increase efficiencies at the nation’s largest Port complex, truck traffic is moving much faster under the new program. Key to this efficiency is a “peel off” system in which truck drivers are given containers from the top of a pre-approved block rather than waiting long periods for specific containers to be delivered to them.

The new free flow drayage program at the Los Angeles Ports has created a solution to the challenges facing shippers, 3PL’s, truckers, and retailers. One key benefit is that it reduces congestion at the marine terminals by off-loading hundreds of containers a day from ships.

3PL’s experience quicker turn times using the free flow program in Los Angeles because they are able to “peel off” the top container and dray it from the Ports. Previously, the trucker would have to wait long hours at a general stack of imported containers belonging to many shippers for the correct container to become available.

One of the biggest benefits of the free flow system is that shippers are able to get their freight faster. For 3PL’s, a main advantage of the system is being able to make faster turns, providing their high-volume customers with more efficient service and allowing them to do more with fewer trucks.

Free flow drayage also promotes an environmental benefit to the Los Angeles Ports by maximizing efficient utilization of truck assets in order to reduce congestion and diesel truck emissions. By moving cargo quickly from the port to the trucks, clean air gains are made by reducing diesel emissions.

The free flow drayage program in the Los Angeles Ports has been a success for high-volume shippers thus far. A similar service at other U.S, ports would help improve service as ships continue to support more TEU’s.

The Ultimate 3PL

National Retail Systems, Inc. (NRS) includes Keystone Freight Corp. & National Retail Transportation, Inc. (NRT). NRS is an asset based 3PL that has been providing logistics services for the World’s leading retail companies for 60+ years. Our hub locations include: New York & New Jersey; Los Angeles, CA; Inland Empire, CA; Savannah, GA; Columbus, OH; Greensboro, NC; and Baltimore, MD.