The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach has announced once again that they have delayed consideration of the “Container Dwell Fee,” this time until January 3 after already postponing it several times in the past due to improving port situation.
In a statement, Port of LA said since the program was announced on October 25, the twin ports have seen a combined decline of 41% in aging cargo on the docks.
As expected, progress has eased due to year-end holidays, it added.
"The executive directors of both ports will reassess fee implementation after monitoring data over the next week. Fee implementation has been postponed by both ports since the start of the program," it added.
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. Currently, no date has been set to start the count with respect to container dwell time.
The ports plan to charge ocean carriers in these two categories US$100 per container, increasing in US$100 increments per container per day until the container leaves the terminal.
Port of LA noted that 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 port added in its statement.