Chassis quality is one of the top three factors about which motor carriers are most concerned.

Direct ChassisLink, Inc. (“DCLI”) recently conducted a survey of motor carriers across the country to better understand the key pain points in their use of pooled marine container chassis. The survey revealed that pool chassis quality is one of the most important considerations for drayage providers.

DCLI has placed a major focus on improving marine pool chassis quality for the past four years. The company has injected brand new equipment into chassis pools in every region, invested maintenance and repair dollars to ensure that existing equipment is in good working order, and updated chassis with enhanced parts such as radial tires and LED lights. “We know that motor carriers rely on our equipment to do their jobs,” said Ron Joseph, COO and EVP of DCLI. “Our focus is on making sure that the equipment bearing the DCLI logo is up to the task for our customers and, to that end, we have invested almost $45 million dollars on chassis quality improvement initiatives.”

The quality improvement efforts began in 2014 with a focus on converting chassis from bias-ply tires to radial tires. This initiative has resulted in over 25,000 DCLI marine chassis now having either retreaded or new radial tires, with these conversions continuing daily. The following year, in 2015, DCLI also began converting chassis lights to LEDs and, to date, over 80% of the DCLI marine chassis fleet now features the enhanced lights. “These upgrade efforts are ongoing and as chassis come in for routine maintenance, they are fitted with both upgraded tires and lights,” said Joseph. “These conversions remain a primary objective for the whole DCLI Operations team.”

Another way to improve the quality of chassis pools is by introducing new assets. As part of its quality initiatives, DCLI invests in brand new equipment and has added more that 11,000 new build chassis in both 40′ gooseneck and 40’/45′ extendable varieties to the pools. “We see these fleet enhancements as an investment in our future,” said Bill Shea, CEO of DCLI. “Providing draymen with reliable, high-quality chassis to use for their moves is a core part of our strategy and will ensure our success as much as it ensures our customers’ success.”

For more information on DCLI chassis, please visit the Chassis Overview section of our website.