IMC Offers An Update on Chassis Choice

We’re pleased to share an exciting update that you may already have seen in the news: The American Trucking Association Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference (IMCC) has won the fight for chassis CHOICE – a cause we’ve been advocating for and communicating with you about for many years. This major news will undoubtedly shape the future of drayage by increasing efficiencies industry wide.

IMC is grateful for the work of the FMC Memphis Supply Chain Innovation Team and their leadership that championed CHOICE, interoperability, quality and accountability in chassis provisioning. The work of this team and many industry stakeholders including IMC Chief Commercial Officer, Donna Lemm, was instrumental in this victory for CHOICE. This is indeed a success for you – our customers, to control your own destiny when the train or vessel arrives for shipments moving merchant haulage.

This positive development brings about many changes for all of us. We imagine you may have a few questions, so below are some answers to help address any concerns you may have.

What exactly does this ruling mean?

Simply, it is illegal to restrict/limit motor carriers’ chassis choice on merchant haulage moves to a specific chassis provider in these four regions: Los Angeles/Long Beach, Savannah, Chicago and Memphis. As the Journal of Commerce reported, “The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has ordered ocean carriers to stop mandating that cargo owners and their truckers use specific chassis on merchant haulage business, a decision that could shake up how containers are transported in the US.”

What is the impact of this ruling?

For the first time, the trucking community and IMC customers are free to move in and out of rail terminals with private chassis on merchant haulage moves.  Trucker owned wheels are indeed a great answer to this ruling but in Memphis, like many other inland locations, we still struggle to operate in a system that has both wheeled and grounded operations.

Donna Lemm shared, “this new law allows us freedom to ask how we can provide ultimate speed, process efficiency, cost reduction and access to our freight in the optimal way recognizing that our supply chain is indeed a system. Our Memphis Supply Chain team made up of industry stakeholders all believed that interoperability, supply, quality and accountability were the optimal components of chassis provisioning models when geographic locations had wheeled and grounded operations like they do in Memphis and Chicago.”

Today, MPOC (Memphis Pool of Choice offers all of these qualities of an optimal chassis pool). In fact, MPOC (Memphis Pool of Choice) recently became operational at the Memphis BN, CSX, CN, Marion UP and Rossville NS rails. This gray pool can be used at any of the rails, on any merchant haulage move. MPOC has over 5000 chassis and is managed by a neutral, dedicated pool manager whose sole responsibility is to cater to the customers of the pool directly.