Port terminal averts trucker boycott
Agreement settles dispute over waits and turnaround times
A Port Everglades terminal has reached an agreement to avoid a threatened Aug. 1 boycott by truckers who complained about operating hours and access times at the facility.
The dispute arose over long wait periods for truckers who use Port Everglades Terminal LLC, according to Port Everglades spokeswoman Ellen Kennedy. The truckers handle cargo delivered by Mediterranean Shipping Co., Maersk Line and Zim, which are the primary oceangoing carriers whose ships call at the terminal.
Port Everglades is the landlord for PET and 10 other terminals at the port, according to Kennedy. She said port management was notified of the dispute, but added that “we let our customers handle their own issues.”
“The name of the game in cargo is speed,” she said. “Turnaround rates are very important.”
Terminal executives were notified of the planned boycott on June 21, according to a memo from PET’s management.
On July 11, General Manager Richard Rovirosa and Terminal Manager Javier Miranda met with representatives from Ace Transport, Palmetto Transport, Night Hawk Trucking, Delta Trucking
and Southern Global to address their concerns and discuss improvements.
Rovirosa said the meeting ended positively and that an agreement was reached on revised gate hours and procedures.
Notable changes, made effective immediately under the agreement are:
The terminal will open at 7 a.m., instead of 8 a.m.
The terminal will remain open during lunch hours, which will be determined day-to-day.
The terminal committed to a one hour and 45-minute turn time between gates for trucks. There will be a 50 cent per minute penalty for noncompliance by the terminal.
“It goes without saying
that a boycott would cause severe disruption for the entire Shipping Community and should be avoided,” Rovirosa said in an email memo to the trucking firms that recommended the continuation of operations.
“The Trucking Community and PET have as part of their communication commitment agreed to remain in contact on a regular basis to ensure what was started in good faith on the 11th continues and in fact improves the services provided by everyone to the mutual benefit of all concerned,” he said.
Rudy Alvarez, president of Ace Transport, and who worked with the terminal on the issue, did not respond to phone messages seeking comment.