Container Fees Delayed Another Week With Cargo Movement Improving At Ports Of LA, Long Beach
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — With cargo on the docks moving faster, the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach say they will delay a planned fee for containers that linger too long for another week.
After a meeting with the U.S. Port Envoy John Porcari, ocean liner companies, and marine terminal operators, officials say the "container dwell fee" would remain on hold until Dec. 6
Officials say the two ports have seen a combined decline of 37% in "aging cargo" on the docks since the plan to levy fines was first announced on Oct. 25. Under the plan, containers have nine days to sit on the docks to be taken away for truck transport. After those nine days, a $100 fee per container per day would be assessed for each day the container sits on the docks.
Containers destined to be moved by rail would be charged a fee if it sat on the docks for six days or more.
The fines were announced to help clear the historic backlog at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which is the busiest shipping port in the nation. The pandemic choked the global shipping chain at various points, even as demand for imports surged in mid-2020, forcing dozens of container ships to wait in the waters off Southern California before they can unload.
The port backlog also prompted Navy officials to open up some of its facilities at the Port of Hueneme so cargo ships can also unload at the smaller shipping port in Ventura County.