Viewpoint: A tale of 2 capacities

Breaking out the rails, ITS has put the East Coast ramps in the “severe category,” citing congestion at the ramps both in operations and chassis availability.

Paul Brashier, vice president of drayage at ITS Logistics, says the lack of ocean chassis equipment and increased volumes will cause significant operational issues and create additional costs.

As a result of the congestion, ITS says it will be imperative for companies to consider avoiding booking low-inventory or high-demand SKUs to the ramps of the Midwest. It is also urging clients to instead move some volumes to be transloaded and moved inland via truckload or intermodal.

This is why visibility technology is so important, Brashier added. “It enables you to have time to make decisions. The deeper you can get a line of sight into future client demand and the current  state of equipment supply and operations, helps you be nimble in terms of how to pivot.”