A few of the many trailers parked in front of the Albany Box Company on Pacific Boulevard on the evening of July 23.
A reader wondered about all those semi-trailers parked in front of the Albany Box Company on Pacific Boulevard in Albany. Saturday’s bike ride took me past the place for a look.
I leaned the bike against one of the trailers and counted all the ones I could see. Just then, a truck pulled in with another one. Here, take a look.
I did talk briefly to the driver as he was working to unhook the trailer and get it settled in at the end of a row of others.
Here’s what I understand. The empty trailers are being stored there temporarily. They had been full of freight destined for the Target distribution center in south Albany, and after they were unloaded there wasn’t room to keep them there.
I had counted 40 trailers on part of the lot facing Pacific. According to the driver, who kindly answered my questions, others were elsewhere on the property, and all of them totaled more than 100.
Just exactly why the trailers have to be stored instead of being taken away by the trucks that brought them to Albany, that’s a question I hope to get answered when I can reach somebody at the distribution center.
The Target distribution center is at 875 Beta Drive S.W. The company has just asked the city to approve a site plan for a temporary gravel parking lot there.
The city’s public notice of the application says the lot would be 14,800 square feet. That’s one-third of an acre, far too small to accommodate more than a few semi-trailers.
So this land-use request probably has nothing to do with the need to store those trailers until they are needed again. (hh)
Probably has something to do with the supply chain issues. I’m sure it doesn’t pay to haul empties, especially with the fuel prices. I’ve read that the harbors/ports are clogged with empties as well (supply chain issues).
It just may be that what’s necessary is for the State to install a web camera or two over at the inter-modal truck/train loading dock. If it were possible to monitor the activities of the trailers, perhaps this mystery could be solved.
My question is – If a tractor brings in a loaded trailer, parks the trailer then the truck leaves with no trailer doesn’t it cost something to run that empty tractor to a location that has a loaded trailer and repeat?
The logistics presently in use don’t make much sense to me.
When they drop that trailer, they already have a trailer to pick up or they have do a reset for their 35-hour rule. Sometimes its has easy drop and hook but now days it is not. got a lot more regulations to deal with the reset rules or driver hours. also target has something like 3 or 4 different trucking company that u drive for have different rule for each driver swift, England, Scheider and i believe 1 more but i can’t remember hope that helps if i did not confuse u even more LOL
It’s called a drop yard…. it’s common in the trucking Industry drop yards are everywhere… drivers then pick up preloaded trailer!
What’s with all your camera comments? Did you just buy some stock in a surveillance company?
That was meant for John
Maybe, if Hasso did a little more digging into the trucking industry, he might have been able to answer his own question and written a more accurate and informative article.