PierPASS Inc. this week released the finding of its third opinion survey conducted with truck drivers servicing the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Highlighted in the poll results are an increased number of trips truckers make per shift, continued acknowledgement of traffic reduction at the ports and the recognized benefit of a flexible work schedule due to the OffPeak program. A growing number of the truckers also report higher earnings since the OffPeak program was initiated in July 2005, continuing a trend noted in a benchmark survey conducted in May of last year.
Compiled and verified for PierPASS by the Santa Monica-based opinion research firm Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates, the poll was conducted between Nov. 27 and Dec. 9 among a pool of 451 drivers serving all container terminals at the two ports.
The OffPeak program is a traffic mitigation initiative managed by PierPASS. Since July 2005, OffPeak has enabled weeknight and Saturday shifts at marine terminal gates, easing congestion on roads and in terminals during peak daytime hours.
"The news here is that OffPeak continues to impress, with drivers reporting higher earnings and more trips per shift,” says FMM&A partner Richard Maullin. “In addition, new questions added since the May 2006 survey provided solid data on why the later hours of OffPeak shifts are being underutilized, with a full one quarter of drivers citing lack of customer demand.”
Among truckers aware of the OffPeak program, 61 percent rate OffPeak positively, a slight decrease from the May survey findings that remains within the poll’s statistical margin of error. Keeping pace with the May results, over two-thirds reported both reduced traffic congestion (67 percent) and more flexible work schedules (66 percent) since the program began.
Drivers also confirmed making more delivery trips than reported in the previous survey, with 45 percent confirming an overall increase in trips, up slightly from May. More detailed information shows that 64 percent of all drivers are currently making three trips or more per shift, compared with 58 percent just six months ago. Highlighting this continuing positive cargo movement trend, more drivers reported higher earnings, a move from 34 to 37 percent since the May survey.
The polling data also confirmed that there is room for immediate growth of the program through underutilized OffPeak hours. According to the survey findings, 25 percent of those who responded that they are not currently working in the later hours of the OffPeak shifts – Monday through Thursday between midnight and 3 a.m. – identified a lack of scheduled delivery runs by their trucking company as the reason. The same percentage also confirmed that lack of scheduled runs prevents them from making deliveries after 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
“We view trucker observations as an early-warning system for issues that deserve our attention,” says Bruce Wargo, PierPASS president and CEO. “With a full one-quarter of truckers responding that not being sent by their company prevents them from using early morning gates during the week and late afternoon gates on Saturdays, we see an issue and an opportunity. If we can get cargo moving more aggressively during all our OffPeak hours, it will open up additional capacity at the ports and maximize the value of our program.”
PierPASS is a not-for-profit company created by marine terminal operators at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports to address multi-terminal issues such as congestion, security and air quality. For more information, visit www.pierpass.org.