The system, being created by eModal of Irvine, California, will serve as a clearinghouse for cargo containers. It will allow trucking companies to locate an empty container close to the site where they have an export pickup, rather than having to make an unnecessary trip to a port terminal, where empties are typically stored.
The Virtual Container Yard has been designed to save truck operators time and money, and will reduce traffic and its impact on local communities, as the system will also alleviate the need for a trucker to return an empty container to the port.
Under the system, ocean carriers and trucking companies provide information on the location of an empty container. When this information is compiled, it would provide truckers with a master list of empty containers that would be available to them, and where the containers are located. The virtual exchange will be done via the internet, with eModal’s existing web-based port community system providing the platform for the application.
Port Authority chairman, Anthony Coscia, said: This program will continue our efforts to balance the significant annual growth of cargo volumes in our port with our responsibility to be good environmental stewards. By limiting the number of truck trips we need to keep the region’s economy strong, we will greatly reduce harmful air emissions throughout the port district.
The Port of New York and New Jersey will be the first east coast port to launch this system when it goes online in spring 2007. The ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland are either using the system or experimenting with it.
