Excerpts from the Journal of Commerce:

Container lines owned half of U.S. intermodal chassis in 2009, but their share fell to 32 percent last year and will drop to 20 percent by the end of 2013, consultant Steve Rubin told the JOC’s 13th annual TPM Conference.

The next big thing in intermodal chassis may be a proposed “gray fleet” for chassis operating in and around Los Angeles and Long Beach, the nation’s two busiest container ports.

Chris Lytle, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, told the TPM Conference that the ports hope to issue a request for proposals and get responses within six months. He said the ports hope to apply what’s worked best elsewhere.