Drivers rate the terminals

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 5/1/1998

Drivers for intermodal drayage companies have again rated the nation's intermodal terminals and have found many of them wanting.

Their ratings were compiled in the second annual Intermodal Terminal Survey, conducted last summer by the American Trucking Associations' Intermodal Conference. The 296 terminals rated in the survey received an overall grade of "C" from the drivers. The study did, however, find a few terminals that performed well above average. Five of those received the group's "Award of Excellence." They were:

* Long Beach Container Terminal-Berth 10, Long Beach, Calif.

* Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Atlanta, Ga.

* Sea-Land, La Porte, Texas

* Union Pacific, Mesquite Ramp, Mesquite, Texas

* Norfolk Southern, Alexandria, Va.

Drivers rated the terminals with grades from A to F in six categories: turnaround, main gate-in, main gate-out, clerks, yard, and equipment roadworthiness. Their top criterion was total turnaround time. They also gave great weight to customer service, ease of yard usage, and yard layout.

The terminals included in the survey are located in all parts of the nation, although the majority were in the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwest. According to the survey report, that imbalance roughly corresponds to the actual distribution of intermodal terminals. The terminals also were about equally divided between marine and rail facilities.