SAN PEDRO, Calif. (KNX) — After marked improvement, the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles will hold off on fines for ocean carriers that dwell too long at port. The “Container Dwell Fee,” which was announced on Oct. 25, will now be delayed until Nov. 22.
“There’s been significant improvement in clearing import containers from our docks in recent weeks,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a statement.
“I’m grateful to the many nodes of the supply chain, from shipping lines, marine terminals, trucks and cargo owners, for their increased collaborative efforts. We will continue to closely monitor the data as we approach November 22.”
Mario Cordero, the Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach, said the improvement indicates that “everyone is working together to speed the movement of cargo and reduce the backlog of ships off the coast as quickly as possible.”
Since the fee was first announced in October, the twin ports have seen a 26% decline in “aging cargo” on the docks.
Once in effect, the dwell fee will charge ocean carriers fees for every container that “dwells” longer than its allotted time. If the containers are to move by truck, ocean carriers will be charged for every container that dwells for nine days or more. For containers set to be moved by train, the timeline is shorter. In those cases, ocean carriers will be charged if the container dwells for six days or more.
Fees will be “$100 per container, increasing in $100 increments per container, per day until the container leaves the terminal” and will be reinvested into programs designed to enhance efficiency at the ports.
Before the pandemic-induced import surge began in mid-2020, the ports said — on average, containers for local delivery remained on container terminals “under four days, while containers destined for trains dwelled less than two days.”
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