Chassis: The bottleneck to trade and transportation

Abstract International trade requires efficient delivery of goods between exporting and importing countries, normally via ocean vessels. About 90% of these cargoes are transported in shipping containers to the port by truck or rail. The intermodal chassis availability is a critical component of the supply chain. This paper provides an overview of the nuances and challenges associated with the current provisioning of chassis in New Orleans, LA and Memphis, TN, through in‐depth interviews with industry professionals. Increased dwell times, inventory issues and chassis management inefficiencies over the past several years have caused expensive delays and bottlenecks at nodes of intermodal freight.