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The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach announced that they will further delay consideration of the “Container Dwell Fee” for another week, this time until January 10 citing improved cargo movement in the ports.
"Since the program was announced on October 25, the two ports have seen a combined decline of 35% in aging cargo on the docks. As expected, year-end holidays have slowed the progress compared to previous weeks," the ports said in a statement.
Port of LA said 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.
“Container Dwell Fee”
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.
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.
The ports said any fees collected from dwelling cargo will be reinvested for programs designed to enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity and address congestion impacts.
Before this latest announcement, the Port of Los Angeles also said it plans to begin charging a fee to ocean carriers that allow empty containers to linger on the Port’s marine terminals for nine days or longer.
In a statement, North America's busiest cargo port said the fee — subject to approval by the Los Angeles Harbor Commission — would take effect on January 30, 2022.
Under the policy, starting January 30 ocean carriers will be charged US$100 for an empty container dwelling for nine days, increasing in US$100 increments per container per day until the container leaves the terminal.
