Access to the chassis used by motor carriers, railroads, and marine terminal operators to transport intermodal containers is a key determinant in supply chain efficiency. To address that supply chain priority, Dr. Tom O’Brien, Executive Director of the Center for International Trade & Transportation, is serving on a committee, sponsored by the Federal Maritime Commission, to examine chassis dislocation and lack of chassis availability to determine effective industry and policy solutions for the future of the U.S. supply chain.

The “Committee on the Best Practices for the Efficient Supply of Chassis for Transporting Intermodal Containers” is composed of leaders from industry and academia from across the continental U.S., all of whom were appointed through a nomination process. O’Brien, who also serves as Deputy Director of the METRANS Transportation Consortium, has conducted extensive research on chassis usage in the Southern California context, including Mitigating Urban Freight through Effective Management of Truck Chassis (2014) and Impact of Streamlined Chassis Movements and Extended Hours of Operation on Terminal Capacity and Source-Specific Emissions Reduction (2007).

Problems with chassis dislocation and overall lack of chassis availability in the wake of the pandemic have been a recurrent theme in supply chain discussions, exacerbating a problem that has existed in the U.S. since ocean carriers divested themselves of chassis more than a decade ago. Since the start of this year, the committee has been engaged in a fact-finding mission taking place across the country to understand the nature of the chassis availability problem from different perspectives, including the unique concerns expressed by stakeholders in the San Pedro Bay Ports and the Port of Savannah. Future meetings will consider the chassis-related difficulties facing rail-based transportation in Chicago and Memphis. Each one of these disparate geographical points in the national supply chain depends upon chassis availability and benefits from better chassis management.

The committee is chaired by C. James Kruse (Director of the Center for Ports & Waterways at Texas A&M Transportation Institute). Further information about the committee and a full list of its members can be found on the committee’s webpage.