The problems are continuing for importers, this time on the east coast. Due to high import volumes and the rising number of empties at the Port of New York and New Jersey, increasing delays and port congestion are essentially cutting trucking productivity in half. Typically, it only takes drivers 2-3 hours to pick up or drop off containers, but some are being forced to wait up to 6 hours now. These lengthy waits are eating into what little driving time truckers have left, and the fact that a lot of them are unable to drop off empty containers where they’re picking up imports isn’t helping the situation.
According to JOC, “many drivers servicing the second-largest US cargo gateway are only able to make two turns per day, compared with three or more turns prior to the surge in imports that began last summer.” Even with increased pay and higher rates, more and more drivers are quitting because they can’t complete as many jobs per day, which directly impacts how much they get paid. In fact, “average local drayage driver pay has fallen about 20 percent this year compared with 2019 because drivers get paid per completed job — not per hour or per mile,” according to trucking executives.
As drayage operators work hard to keep port drivers happy, they’re also having to compete with record-level spot rates over in the truckload market. To learn more about the drayage sector’s struggles or read up on what else went down in international shipping this week, check out the following links:
