Justice Department Gives OK for Container Chassis Pool in California

The U.S. Department of Justice will not challenge a proposal by Flexi-Van Leasing Inc. and Direct ChassisLink Inc. to enter into a chassis use agreement at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California.

Flexi-Van and Direct ChassisLink are container truck chassis leasing companies that also manage some of the largest chassis pools operating at the facilities.

According to Flexi-Van and Direct ChassisLink, the proposed agreement will result in the establishment of a “gray” chassis pool, which will extend benefits associated with individual pools by allowing the interchange of chassis across multiple pools throughout the port complex.

They claim increased flexibility created by the interchangeability will enhance customer service, improve chassis productivity, and respond to the desire of the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports authorities to achieve better overall use of the region’s chassis fleets.

The pools managed by Flexi-Van and Direct ChassisLink will continue to compete for business, and leasing terms and rates will continue to be set independently by each chassis provider, according to information they provided to the U.S. Justice Department. No information will be exchanged between Flexi-Van and Direct ChassisLink regarding customer pricing or other competitively sensitive terms.

A third party provider will be used to facilitate operation of the gray chassis pool, audit chassis usage, and prevent the exchange of competitively sensitive information among the pools and chassis providers.

After initial implementation, Flexi-Van and Direct ChassisLink intend that the agreement will become open to other pools at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

“Based on these representations, as well as the department’s investigation into the particular facts and circumstances relating to the competitive conditions of chassis supply at the port complex, the department has no present intention to challenge the proposed agreement,” said the U.S. Justice Department in a statement.