The Pacific Maritime Association is a step closer to deploying the technology it says it needs to enhance the competitiveness of West Coast docks. The West Coast dockworkers' union agreed last week to retain control of marine clerical work even as that work is automated, which could cost up to 600 clerical jobs. Peter Vandermat, VP of planning and analysis at engineering consulting firm JWD Group, says, "The time that truckers spend sitting in queue, waiting to come into the container port and then giving information about the cargo they're picking up would go down significantly if the docks used an appointment system."