Further consideration of the “Container Dwell Fee” will be postponed until December 27, the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles announced.
Since the fee was announced on October 25, the twin ports have seen a combined decline of 46 percent in aging cargo on the docks. The executive directors of both ports said they would reassess fee implementation after monitoring data over the next week.
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 for 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 $100 per container, increasing in $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 sat 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, said the port directors.
The policy was developed in coordination with the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, U.S. Department of Transportation and multiple supply chain stakeholders.
