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‘CONTAINER DWELL FEE’ AT PORT OF LA, LONG BEACH REMAINS ON HOLD UNTIL DECEMBER 6
November 30, 2021
The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach has announced a further postponement of the “Container Dwell Fee.”
In a statement, it said after meetings with U.S. Port Envoy John Porcari, ocean liner companies and marine terminal operators, the two ports said the fee will not be considered prior to December 6 — another week of extension from its announced November 29 target.
In a statement, the ports noted that since the fee was announced on October 25, the twin ports have seen a combined decline of 37% in aging cargo on the docks.
It said the executive directors of both ports will reassess fee implementation after another week of monitoring data.
"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 noted that currently, no date has been set to start the count with respect to container dwell time.
The ports earlier planned 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.
Before the onslaught of the pandemic-induced import surge 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, ports of LA and Long Beach said.
Port of LA said any fees collected from dwelling cargo will be reinvested for programs designed to enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity and address congestion impacts.
