TRADE GROUP CHANGES NAME TO HIGHLIGHT NATIONAL SCOPE OF PORT CONGESTION, SECURITY AND EFFICIENCY ISSUES

[February 21, 2003 - Washington, DC] - The members of the West Coast Waterfront Coalition ratified a proposal to rename the organization the Waterfront Coalition at its quarterly meetings held February 6-7, 2003 in El Segundo, CA. The name change stems from the fact that congestion, security and efficiency issues are not limited to ports on the West Coast of the United States, but nationwide problems.

"International trade is growing at an ever-increasing rate", said Waterfront Coalition Executive Director Robin Lanier. "American ports do not possess the adequate infrastructure to deal with this heightened volume or new demands posed by port and cargo security regulation. These issues definitely affect the businesses of shippers and cargo owners, and the issues are truly national in scope."

Leading U.S. importers, exporters, ocean carriers and surface transportation carriers formed the West Coast Waterfront Coalition in 2000 to act as a forum to discuss innovative ideas for improving waterborne cargo transit through West Coast ports. The Coalition has been successful in educating importers and exporters about the issues on the waterfront, and has mobilized cargo owners to find business solutions - such as extended gate hours for trucks - that can have a meaningful impact on the ports and their surrounding communities. The organization has also lobbied on behalf of its members on port and container security issues.

At its recent meeting, the Coalition also agreed to move forward with a pilot project to demonstrate the feasibility of regular extended truck gates in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. "We believe the key to getting night and weekend gates open is for cargo owners to commit cargo to those gates. Most stakeholders feel that shippers are the key to moving more freight during off-hours when the roads are less congested. We are initiating a survey of cargo owners to ascertain how many gate moves they will be willing to commit by terminal in the Los Angeles and Long Beach area," Ms. Lanier said.

"If we can demonstrate a willingness to commit to night and weekend gates in LA and Long Beach, we will see what can be done at other ports, including New York and New Jersey where truck congestion is also a serious problem." The Waterfront Coalition hopes to secure commitments from cargo owners and other shippers by mid-March and seek discussions with terminal operators to see what nights can accommodate extended gates.

The Coalition plans its next quarterly meeting in Newark, New Jersey and has begun outreach to the port community in the New York/New Jersey area. It is also expanding its focus on the West Coast to include the port of Oakland. Efforts are underway to determine support within that sector for extended gates in Northern California