The Ideal Scenario
If you drove a trailer and you were told that hauling a 40-foot container from LA/Long Beach would entail a deduction of $ 40 from your paycheck that day, what would you think? Your thoughts couldn’t be spoken aloud in mixed company, no doubt, and you’d be considering your other options. And what would your wife think when she heard that the alternative was to make your runs during off-peak hours instead of during normal working hours? She’d have to keep her thoughts to herself as well, not because she’d miss you at night, but because you’d be underfoot all day. That’s the extent of the humor in this sorry dilemma.
Here’s another scenario for you. Suppose you were a full-time employee of a transportation company, at union wages and under favorable HOS conditions, and no fees, or fines, were imposed when you were hauling 40-footers during daylight hours, would that be a more desirable situation? You’d feel like a human being again.
This website is describing and proposing a system whereby order would replace chaos, elbow room would replace congestion, living wages would replace penury, and good will would replace animosities. The efficiencies within this patented system would eliminate the costs now committed to the failings of conventionally-structured terminal operations, and would relieve the financial drain on the community by freeing up and converting valuable acreage to more practical and profitable uses. Recent proposals requiring billions of dollars for the demolition and replacement of bridges and highways would be set aside. Taking land by eminent domain, filling in harbor waters, dredging existing channels, building more railroads (and rail crossings), and putting more trucks on the roads would no longer be a required burden for taxpayers. Gains would be seen in the uphill battle against air and noise pollution. The work would be steady for everyone. The normal increases in late season imports would be distributed to those ports nearest to the ultimate destinations of the cargo, and no longer would 15% of containerized freight moving into the U.S. be traveling on I-710.
Here’s another scenario for you. Suppose all the proposals being considered were acted upon over the next few years and billions of dollars were actually spent on this expansion program. The problems still wouldn’t be solved because it’s impossible to solve them using conventional means. The “expansion” would only serve as an invitation to direct more volume to the LA/Long Beach region, and the problems would be multiplied. What then? Spend more billions in the never-ending game of catch-up? That route short-changes everyone. The LA/Long Beach complex is not a publicly-held corporation. Too bad. Publicly-held corporations are accountable to stockholders and every move made comes under their scrutiny as well as the scrutiny of accountants, auditors, creditors and even customers. No such anxiety exists where ports are concerned. When a few million dollars is required for this or that project, the public treasury rather than a corporate one is tapped. When the pursuit of a goal turns into a futile and costly faux pas, c’est la guerre.
But it doesn’t have to be that way, nor should it be. Please take the time to review our website narratives and operations again. Your questions are most welcome.