Trac Intermodal News

TRAC Intermodal is expanding and improving the quality of its chassis fleet in the Gulf Region to meet an expected surge in U.S. resin exports. The TRAC Gulf Regional Pool (TGRP) now offers the largest and most modern fleet of chassis in the ports of Houston, Dallas, Mobile, New Orleans and El Paso as well as several other locations. TRAC has refurbished over 20 percent of its TGRP fleet to ensure that customers have access to the highest quality and most reliable chassis in the Gulf port complex. These refurbished chassis feature LED lights, OEM tires, new brake systems and new electrical wiring, and are painted TRAC Blue. “TRAC is systematically upgrading the quality and composition of our fleet in the Gulf.

TRAC Intermodal LLC is exploring a sale or an initial public offering (IPO) after pulling a $485 million bond offering last week, reports WSJ quoting the chief executive Keith Lovetro. Princeton, N.J.-based TRAC, one of the largest leasing companies for trucking equipment, owns about 315,000 intermodal chassis —steel frames with wheels that hook up to truck tractors. TRAC enlisted Morgan Stanley to sell the debt, with $325 million earmarked for a dividend to private equity firm Fortress Investment Group LLC, which bought the company in 2007, earlier this month. However, investor demand was low, forcing TRAC to cancel the sale on March 22. Moody's Investors Service has withdrawn the Caa1 rating for TRAC Intermodal LLC's planned $485 million senior secured second lien notes.

The Columbia Group of Companies will open a new intermodal chassis depot located in Bayonne, NJ on November 16, 2015. Trac Intermodal will be the first customer to join the depot. Columbia Group, through its affiliates Columbia Container Services and Columbia Intermodal, already operate a first-class off-dock empty container depot and chassis maintenance and repair depot in the Port of New York/New Jersey and a chassis pool and container repair operation in the Port of Boston. Fenimore says that the new depot will be open to all chassis owners and its being developed to provide quality customer service to motor carriers. “The motor carrier community and chassis providers in the Port of New York and New Jersey want an adequate supply of available chassis…

Three companies that own the vast majority of chassis serving the San Pedro Bay ports are on track to activate a “gray chassis fleet” of truck-trailers on March 1, a move that should improve the flow of goods through Port of Long Beach, the nation’s busiest harbor complex. Dubbed the “pool of pools,” the landmark agreement between Direct ChassisLink Inc. (DCLI), Flexi-Van Leasing Inc. and TRAC Intermodal clears the way for more efficient cargo operations by giving terminal operators and trucking companies at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles much more flexibility in obtaining chassis – the wheeled trailers used by trucks to haul cargo containers. Eleven of the 13 container terminals at the San Pedro Bay ports, as well as the off-dock rail yards, are expected to participate.

Commissioner William P. Doyle's remarks at the Commission Briefing on Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Port Congestion Forum, November 13 2014 in Baltimore, MD. On October 1, 2014, Commissioner Lidinsky and I hosted the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Port Congestion Forum at the World Trade Center in Baltimore, Maryland. I want to thank all the FMC staff for their participation in setting up and managing the day’s event. David Tubman and Jewel Jennings-Wright worked tirelessly for weeks helping to locate attendees and participants. Thank you both.

Effective October 20, 2014, NYK Line has become a member of the PNW West Coast Metro Pool (WCMP) operated by Trac Intermodal. The WCMP operates chassis at all major marine terminals, rail facilities and various depots in Portland, Seattle and Tacoma. All motor carriers transporting NYK Line Carrier Haulage cargo and domestic shipments will be required to utilize this chassis pool. This change is designed to build efficiencies while minimizing the environmental impact of having a large number of chassis that are used intermittently and have to be stored and moved. NYK Line said it believes that this policy change will not only lower total cost but will also build greater flexibility for the trucker, as well as improve the performance of their daily work.

Board to expand to eleven from eight; seven New Board Members Join Four Existing Directors; Four Directors Retire. Horizon Lines, a domestic ocean shipping company, today announced that it will expand its Board of Directors to 11 members from eight, effective November 25, 2011. In conjunction with the expansion, seven new directors will be appointed and four of the existing eight directors will retire. • Jeffrey A. Brodsky, Kurt M. Cellar, Carol B. Hallett, James LaChance, Steven L. Rubin, Martin Tuchman and David N. Weinstein will join the board as independent directors.