The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the use of 30 acres on Pier S for temporary storage of empty shipping containers. The temporary depot will help put back into circulation more chassis — the wheeled trailer-frames that trucks use to haul cargo containers. Because many terminals are congested due to the current peak in cargo volume and have no room to accept empty cargo containers, more space is needed to temporarily store those empties. The temporary empty container storage depot will provide a location for truckers to deliver empty containers and remove them from a chassis, and then use the chassis to pick up loaded containers and haul them to their destination.
Ports around the U.S. have been experiencing higher cargo volumes as importers prepare for the holiday shopping season. At the local port complex, a new chassis ownership system has at times left terminals and truckers without the equipment they need.
The vacant Pier S site is currently being prepared to handle the incoming empty containers, and will be ready for use in December.