East coast container ports sign agreement to tackle cargo surge

A group of the east coast’s largest container ports have agreed to increase and upgrade the South Atlantic Chassis Pool (SACP), moving to add intermodal freight capacity at a time when supply chains continue to be pinched by severe port backups and container shortages.

The region’s ports and ocean carriers have operated for several years under an agreement known as SACP 2.0. Now the next-generation port/carrier effort, dubbed “SACP 3.0,” will introduce up to 50,000 new high technology intermodal chassis to handle the international container trade to and from major South Atlantic ports—such as Jacksonville, Savannah, and Wilmington, NC—as well as key inland intermodal hubs including Atlanta, Birmingham, and Charlotte.

The groups who signed a Letter of Intent for the move include The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport), North Carolina State Ports Authority (NC Ports) and the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association (OCEMA), an association of 10 major international container carriers. Nationwide chassis pool operator Consolidated Chassis Management (CCM) also participated.

“This pool will be a game changer for all stakeholders in the Southeastern U.S. by upgrading the region’s intermodal chassis fleet through the creation of a true industry utility,” Griff Lynch, executive director of the GPA, said in a release. “In doing so, we wanted to build on the proven strengths of the SACP by adding upgraded capacity and improved ability to respond to market changes affecting container transport service throughout the Southeastern U.S.”

Next, the partners plan to launch outreach in the coming weeks to stakeholders including regulators, equipment providers, vendors, motor carriers, and rail carriers.

“The current SACP has been the best performing pool in the U.S. during the very challenging cargo surge of the past 15 months,” CCM CEO Mike Wilson said in a release. “The SACP 3.0 will take the strengths of the current SACP – interoperability, efficiency, safety, and a best-in-class operating team – and move to the next level with a unique public/private cooperative effort.”