Hurricane damage to chassis has created equipment shortages that are hitting truckers with hours-long delays and demurrage costs at Port of New York and New Jersey marine terminals.
“It’s an absolute disaster,” said Tom Heimgartner, president of Best Transportation in Port Newark. Other port drayage operators also expressed frustration at chassis shortages, long lines at truck gates, and terminal operators’ unwillingness to waive demurrage after expiration of allotted free time.
In the days immediately after the port reopened following a shutdown of nearly a week in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, some terminal operators agreed to waive demurrage fees. Now terminals, citing their own added expenses, have resumed normal practices.