The North American Chassis Pool Cooperative LLC announced that its cooperative chassis pooling agreement has been approved by the Surface Transportation Board, clearing the way for the group's members to begin pooling chassis for intermodal freight transportation.

"With this approval in place, NACPC will start working with ocean carriers and equipment leasing companies to buy or lease chassis for carriers to use and contribute to pools now managed by OCEMA's Consolidated Chassis Management LLC," said Dave Manning, NACPC chairman and president of TCW and Tennessee Express based in Nashville. "We are committed to preserving the existing open gray pool contributory model so it can continue to efficiently serve the U.S. intermodal network and supply chain."

NACPC was formed with the goal of establishing an effective chassis supply utility that can be implemented on a national basis to support the U.S. intermodal network with efficient chassis supplies, a modernized chassis fleet, and a transparent set of economics and terms of use that will benefit all users.

"Roughly 40% of the chassis used by motor carriers are more than 15 years old," Manning said. "So as stewards of this equipment, NACPC plans to refurbish and upgrade this equipment with radial tires, auto inflation devices and improved braking and lighting systems. These equipment improvements are expected to reduce long-term maintenance costs and improve federal 'roadability' safety compliance.

"Equipment improvements will also provide energy savings and environmental benefits by reducing chassis repositioning distances and lowering truck transport emissions. A modernized chassis will also increase driver productivity by reducing waiting delays that often occur today because equipment offered for interchange still needs repair before drivers can safely transport container freight to their customers."

NACPC member companies are California Multimodal LLC; Containerport Group Inc.; Devine & Son Trucking Co. Inc.; Eagle Systems Inc.; G & P Trucking Company Inc.; Intermodal Cartage Co. Inc.; Reliable Transportation Specialists Inc.; Tennessee Express Inc.; Tri-Modal Distribution Services Inc.; and Triple G Express Inc. NACPC membership is open to qualified motor carriers.