Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to Begin Charging Ocean Carriers for Excessive Container Dwell Times at Terminals.

Posted by Thao Tran
Category:
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have announced a plan to begin charging a daily fee to ocean carriers for import containers that linger in marine terminals.
The new charges are part of an effort by the ports, developed in coordination with the Biden Administration, to improve cargo movement amid congestion and record volumes since the second half of last year.
Under the new policy, the ports will charge ocean carriers, starting at $100 per container per day, for containers that fall into one of two categories; containers scheduled to move by truck and those moving by rail.
In the case of containers scheduled to move by truck, ocean carriers will be charged for every container “dwelling” nine days or more, while for containers moving by rail, carriers will be charged if the container has dwelled for three days or more. Dwell times typically refer to the period between when the container is unloaded from a ship and the time when it is picked up
The charges will begin November 1, at which point carriers with cargo falling in those categories will be charged $100 per container per day, which will increase by $100 increments each day beyond the allotted times, the ports said in a statement announcing the new measures.
Before the pandemic-induced import surge began in mid-2020, containers for local delivery sat on container terminals under four days, on average, while containers destined for trains dwelled less than two days. But those numbers have increased significantly over the last year, making it difficult to clear cargo off the terminals and bring in ships at anchor, contributing to the backup. As of today, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach had 102 containerships in port, including 73 at anchor or in hold areas and 29 at berth.
Fees collected from dwelling cargo is expected to be re-invested by the two ports for programs designed to enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity, and address congestion impacts throughout the San Pedro Bay, the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach said.
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.
The Port of Long Beach has also moved to relax stack height limit restrictions, allowing stacks to be 4 containers high (as opposed to 2) when stored.
The World Shipping Council, a lobbying group for international liner shipping, has yet to respond to the announcement of the charges.

Leave a Reply

Social media & sharing icons powered by UltimatelySocial
Follow by Email
YouTube