The San Pedro Bay ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will postpone anew the consideration of the “Container Dwell Fee” for four weeks, until November 18 as the twin ports continued to report improvement in cargo movements.

In its latest announcement, the Port of LA and Long Beach said since the program was announced on October 25, 2021, the two ports have seen a combined decline of 69% in ageing cargo on the docks.

 Source: Port of Long Beach

The executive directors of both ports will reassess fee implementation after monitoring data over the next month.

Meanwhile, fee implementation has been postponed by both ports since the start of the program.

The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners has extended the fee program through January 24, 2023. The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners is scheduled to consider the same extension on Monday, Oct. 24.

"Under the temporary policy, ocean carriers can be charged for each import container dwelling nine days or more at the terminal. Currently, no date has been set to start the count with respect to container dwell time," the ports said.

The ports planned to charge ocean carriers US$100 per container, increasing in US$100 increments per container per day until the container leaves the terminal.

Port of LA and Long Beach said any fees collected from dwelling cargo will be reinvested for programs designed to enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity and address congestion impacts.

The policy was developed in coordination with the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, the U.S. Department of Transportation and multiple supply chain stakeholders.