APL to phase out US container chassis in 2012
In line with what most MLO’s are doing, Singapore Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) has announced that its container shipping arm, APL, will begin phasing out its US fleet of container chassis during the first half of 2012.
The carrier is expected to complete the disposal of the fleet by 2014, a statement said.
Chassis are the skeletal truck trailers used to haul shipping containers over the road. The shipping line said it will turn its fleet over to organisations that specialise in providing chassis to drayage companies.
“This is the direction the container shipping industry is moving,” said Americas president Gene Seroka from the company’s US headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona. “By relying on providers who specialise in chassis management, equipment is deployed more efficiently.”
Disposal will begin with a pilot programme at terminals in Denver and Salt Lake City, which could begin as early as March. Chassis will be phased out at most of the company’s inland terminals by the end of this year, then extended to US east coast seaports in 2013, and is expected to be completed nationwide by early 2014.