picking up containers from the ports

evrything I know about this vocation is negative, heavy loads, lots of ifs as to condition of frames these containers sit on, from tires to suspension, and especially the lighting electrical.. pay is orchestrated by just a handful of shippers, clear monopoly on pricing and payout. you'll put in excessive hrs and in traffic to get it done..
the attitude at the yards is less than cheerful,and this is the one area where all the green card holders go to find work. between the turbans and the russian speaking, what more does one want to know?
(should say,this was observed at seattle ports, do not know specifics on CA or oregon, but guessing same game plan)

 

You will need a TWIC card. The waiting can go either way. I have been in and out in 15-20 minutes then other times it could take 2-3 hrs. I only have experience with the port of Mobile, AL and port of New Orleans, LA. You can usually be home pretty regular. Most of the loads go 2-300 miles from the port. The chassis are crap bad tires, light problems, etc. Most of the loads are heavy but I have pulled a lot of furniture loads that are pretty light. If you are there around lunch time you will be there for a while. They go to a skeleton crew. There might only be 1 toploader working in the whole port. Having a good dispatcher can make or break you. It is all computer controlled and if they enter something wrong on your appt. you will have to get on the phone and try to straighten it out or go back out the gate and come in again after they re-enter the appt.

 

yes, meant to use the word chassis, only place ever heard there cash to be made was around chicago with intermodal. 70k + sign on bonuses last year

 

You will need a TWIC card- all access to ports is regulated by the Coast Guard and homeland security now.
-friends don't let friends pick up at the port for them.

 

not completely sure on all the details, might depend a little on which port probably, containerized china crap coming in overall is way down, so frequency of inbound hauls is bit sketchy at times.
where you looking at port wise? TWIC card is a given, and might want Hazmat too just in case
But these are secondary, payout and consistency,hrs involved,if have contract,ask all these and I'd go down to the port or ports in question and observe and ask as much about evrything can
the equipment saw used in seattle spoke volumes for what the real money flow would be, worse than even scab ltl compny trucks,and thats almost just plain hard to surpass.

 

You can make a living. Generally you won't get rich pulling containers. Most of the companies I'm aware of around here pay $13-14 an hour. O/O are getting around $1 + FSC. From the ones I've talked to the companies these O/O pull for are skimming off some of the FSC. There is a lot of hurry up and wait. I have been to some of these cold storage places and chicken plants picking up frozen chicken parts and had to sit and wait any where from 2-8 hrs to get loaded. Some guys love it getting paid by the hour and they just lay over the steering wheel and sleep. They use a lot of daycabs around here. It's hard for me to sleep like that though. So yes you can make a living but it ain't easy! LOL

 

Down here in L.A. its not that bad but allot has to do with you're dispatcher. Sometimes I'm in and out in 15 minutes sometimes an hour or hour and a half. This is like anything else once you get the hang of it its not that much of a headache like everyone else seems to think, just don't expect to make the big bucks here. Sometimes its "who you know" that will make you our break you. If you are coming in here thinking you're gonna clear $4-5000 a week after expenses then forget about it its more like$1500-2500 after expenses,, the upside is you're home nightly and that's about it

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Yeah I agree. It's not bad once you learn the ropes. I had back surgery 3 weeks ago and have been thinking about going back to it when I get recovered. I have also thought about getting out of trucking all together though too. So take it for what it's worth.