The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have decided that consideration of the container dwell fee, directed to ocean carriers for import boxes that dwell on marine terminals, will be held off another week, this time until 17 January.
This is the ninth time that the twin US ports have delayed the fee implementation, while they have seen a combined decline of 45% in ageing cargo on the docks since the program was announced on 25 October.
This policy that was developed in coordination with the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, the US Department of Transportation and multiple supply chain stakeholders, plans to charge carriers as follows:
In the case of containers scheduled to move by truck, ocean carriers could be charged for every container dwelling for nine days or more, while for containers moving by rail, ocean carriers could be charged if a container has dwelled for six days or more.
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 box leaves the terminal, according to a statement.
Port officials reminded that any fees collected from dwelling cargo will be reinvested for programs designed to enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity and address congestion impacts.
