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The Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles have further postponed the container dwell fee until November 29
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Since the fee was announced on October 25, the two ports have seen a decline of 33% combined in aging cargo on the docks
The Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles have further postponed the container dwell fee until November 29, citing significant improvements in the supply chain.
“With continued progress moving containers off marine terminals, the fee will not be considered before Nov. 29,” the California sister ports, the two busiest container ports in the US, said in a November 22 joint release.
“Since the fee was announced on Oct. 25, the two ports have seen a decline of 33% combined in aging cargo on the docks. The executive directors of both ports are satisfied with the progress thus far and will reassess fee implementation after another week of monitoring data.”
“The terminals are running out of space, and this will make room for the containers sitting on those ships at anchor,” explained Port of Long Beach executive director Mario Cordero in a statement announcing the measure at the time.
The fees have been delayed several times since it was announced in October as ports have reported progress on clearing out containers.
Under the temporary policy approved October 29 by the Harbor Commissions of both ports, ocean carriers can be charged for each import container that falls into one of two categories: In the case of containers scheduled to move by truck, ocean carriers could be charged for every container dwelling nine days or more. For containers moving by rail, ocean carriers could be charged if a container has dwelled for six days or more.
The ports plan to charge ocean carriers in these two categories US$100 per container, increasing in $100 increments per container per day until the container leaves the terminal.
Before the pandemic-induced import surge began in mid-2020, on average, containers for local delivery remained on container terminals under four days, while containers destined for trains dwelled less than two days.
Any fees collected from dwelling cargo will be reinvested for programs designed to enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity and address congestion impacts, the ports said.
Photo courtesy of Port of Los Angeles
