Terminal-Yard Congestion Recovery Authority

The mandate

The terminal operations chief departed after yard density breached safe thresholds for eleven consecutive days and vessel productivity began to collapse. Importers cannot secure appointments for buried boxes, rail departures miss grounded trains, carriers return empties against conflicting instructions, and shifts improvise rehandles. Commercial teams promise fluidity while the yard plan has no credible path to stable density. A temporary executive must recover flow before peak imports arrive.

The board requires a recovery executive on the terminal within ten days, with seven months available before the temporary authority expires. A 21-day containment sprint creates the inventory truth, separates long-dwell and exception boxes and brings empty returns and appointments under control. Revised zoning must then withstand two combined vessel-and-rail peaks. The closing stage removes temporary overflow, records eight stable weeks and places live shift decisions under the permanent terminal operator.

Eight continuous weeks inside the safe density zone are the first exit condition. The others are board-compliant rehandles and import dwell, a departure owner for every grounded rail unit, and one governed channel for carrier empty instructions. Only then does the permanent operator accept the bay and block constraints, aged inventory, labour and equipment limits, customer interventions, temporary-land exits and the next six-week vessel, rail and gate plan.

The interim may direct terminal staff, redesign yard zoning, cap empty returns, alter appointment supply, prioritise rail and vessel work and approve overflow or recovery spend up to USD 4 million. Tariff changes, labour-agreement amendment, permanent appointments, long-term land commitments and capital above delegation require authorised approval. The leader cannot direct ship navigation, customs holds, railroad network dispatch or beneficial cargo owner legal obligations.

Terminal-system replacement, permanent automation, concession renegotiation and litigation over demurrage or detention are outside scope. The executive will preserve evidence and define operational requirements but will not become technology buyer or legal adviser. This is a physical flow and decision recovery within the current terminal and labour framework.

Why this seat is open

An executive exit occurred after density and service failure crossed from local shift issue into gateway consequence. Existing managers own individual flows but cannot arbitrate carrier, rail, gate and vessel priorities under scarcity. The board has delegated a temporary recovery authority so safe density can be restored before a permanent operator is appointed.

What you will own

• Reconcile every full, empty, rail, customs-held and exception container to location, status, owner, next move and decision clock.
• Decide yard zoning, work queues, empty caps, appointment supply and overflow activation within safety and labour constraints.
• Recover buried imports through targeted peel-off, customer coordination and evidence-based priority rather than uncontrolled rehandles.
• Align grounded rail inventory, cut-offs, train plans and yard resources with railroad and inland ramp counterparts.
• Chair twice-daily flow control linking vessel exchanges, yard density, equipment, labour, gate and recovery actions.
• Withdraw temporary land and emergency rules only after inventory, instruction and customer obligations reconcile cleanly.
• Induct the successor through live density, aged boxes, carrier disputes, rail plans and eight-week stability evidence.

Candidate qualifications

• Held terminal operating authority during severe container-yard congestion at a high-volume gateway.
• Has reduced density and rehandles while protecting vessel, rail, gate, labour and safety performance together.
• Understands import dwell, empty acceptance, appointment systems, grounded rail, customs holds and block strategy.
• Can challenge carrier and customer requests without creating inconsistent instructions or unlawful cargo priority.
• Personally ran day and night recovery shifts through more than one peak vessel and train cycle.
• Completed a permanent handover after emergency overflow and operating rules were retired.

Non-negotiables

• Available in Los Angeles within ten days for six-day onsite command across all shifts.
• Brings direct container-terminal recovery authority; analytics or carrier planning alone is insufficient.
• Accepts customs, railroad, vessel, labour agreement, tariff and board boundaries.
• Will disclose terminal, carrier, labour, rail, trucking and cargo-owner relationships before appointment.

1. 49 words maximum. Describe the highest yard density you recovered and the first rule you imposed.
2. 49 words maximum. Confirm your Los Angeles start date and the terminal volumes under your authority.
3. 49 words maximum. How did you lower import dwell without transferring congestion into rail or empties?