The Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles have announced further postponement of the Container Dwell Fee.
Following meetings on 22 November with US Port Envoy John D. Porcari and industry stakeholders, the ports highlighted continued progress moving containers off marine terminals.
The fee will not be considered before 29 November.
Since the fee was announced on 25 October, the two ports have seen a decline of 33% combined in aging cargo on the docks – satisfying executive directors of both ports with the progress thus far – despite stalling in recent days.
The ports will reassess fee implementation after another week of monitoring data.
Should the fee be imposed, 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.
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.
The policy was developed in coordination with the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, US Department of Transportation and multiple supply chain stakeholders.
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.
Any fees collected from dwelling cargo will be reinvested for programs designed to enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity and address congestion impacts, the ports added.
