Modernized Chassis Mean Savings for Customers

The North American Chassis Pool Cooperative
Written by Nate Hendley

Do you utilize chassis to keep your goods – and your business – moving? Then you need to meet your new secret weapon: The North American Chassis Pool Cooperative (NACPC).
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Founded in October 2012 and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, NACPC provides high-quality chassis priced at-cost to customers large and small. Be it motor carriers or beneficial cargo owners – this solution has come to be one that customers rely on, realizing heightened driver safety and huge savings to their operating costs.

In the past, chassis were typically provided by ocean carriers upon bringing goods into port. In recent years, however, many of these carriers have abandoned chassis support which has resulted in escalating rental prices and decreased supply. There are also concerns that the chassis fleet provided by ocean carriers is aging, which raises safety issues. This can affect both the safety of the driver as well as their ability to stay on the road and accommodate schedules for delivery due to unreliable equipment.

With all of this in mind, twelve U.S. motor carriers came together to form NACPC, a chassis pool cooperative that aims to improve the quality of chassis offered in the marketplace.

“If a motor carrier is going to have to pay for a chassis, they should have a choice as to the provider and be able to negotiate the interchange. This was not possible prior to NACPC’s entry in the market,” says Dave Manning, NACPC president, and president of TCW, a founding member of NACPC.

By pooling resources, NACPC can offer considerable cost savings in terms of acquiring and leasing chassis, insurance coverage and the expense of modernizing and refurbishing existing chassis. NACPC’s ‘at-cost’ pricing model allows customers to realize savings – some customers have reported reductions to their annual operating budget well into the millions of dollars.

“NACPC pricing is generally four to six dollars per use per day below other leasing companies,” notes Manning, adding that, “a company does not have to be a member of NACPC to use our chassis.”

Currently, the benefit provided by NACPC is available to any motor carrier that is a UIIA participant by requesting a NACPC chassis. NACPC’s chassis are currently available in the following locations:
•The Chicago and Ohio Valley Consolidated Pool (Midwest)
•The Gulf Coast Consolidated Pool (Southern United States on the Gulf of Mexico)
•The Mid-South Consolidated Pool (servicing Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee and surrounding areas)
•The South Atlantic Consolidated Pool (Southern states on the Eastern Seaboard).

At any given time, NACPC has 13,000 chassis available for customer use. “Our goal is to continue to build our national footprint, continuing to service customers and their needs across the country. This will no doubt include future plans to expand into the two largest chassis markets: California and New York/New Jersey as well as across the country,” says Manning.

The Cooperative is committed to continuing to modernize equipment – offering chassis with LED lights, radial tires and auto-inflation systems.

As for the future of NACPC, Manning says, “our focus is on growing our customer base. Because of our at-cost pricing model, our motivation is not monetary. Our members are working together to help customers continue to build their business while moving the transportation industry forward. As leaders in this industry, our members feel an obligation to innovate and create a solution that addresses challenges while building a model that will take our industry into the future.”

For more information or to being utilizing NACPC to service your business, visit www.NACPC.org.

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