The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have again postponed implementing a fee on companies whose import containers linger at marine terminals, with the assessment now potentially taking effect, if necessary, Friday, Feb. 11.
The Container Dwell Fee has been delayed numerous times because, according to port officials, ocean carriers have made progress in reducing the number of containers at terminals. The ports on Friday, Feb. 4, reported a 68% combined decline in aging cargo on the docks since the fee was announced on Oct. 25.
Over the next week, port officials will monitor and reassess the fee’s implementation.
Harbor commissions for both Long Beach and Los Angeles unanimously approved the policy on Oct. 29, to be in effect for 90 days.
After initially set to go into effect Nov. 1, the ports delayed implementing the fee until Nov. 15, citing the need to give ocean carriers time to comply.
On Nov. 15, the ports delayed the fee by a week, citing progress. The fee has been delayed each week since.
The fee is one of several efforts aimed at speeding the processing of cargo at the San Pedro Port Complex to eliminate a backlog of ships trying to deliver merchandise. Port of Los Angeles officials said when the policy was announced that about 40% of import containers were idling at terminals for at least nine days.
The fee program has been extended to April 29.
The fines, if implemented, will begin at $100 per container, increasing by $100 per container each day. Containers set to be transported by truck and rail will incur fines if they remain at the port for nine days or more.
Fees collected from the policy will be reinvested into programs that aim to enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity and address congestion impacts.
The ports developed the policy in coordination with the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, the U.S. Department of Transportation and supply chain stakeholders.
The ports at the end of December announced an additional planned fee on carriers with empty containers that linger for at least nine days on marine terminals. That fee, which needs to be approved by the harbor commissions, was set to begin Jan. 30. But port officials remain in talks with stakeholders about the fee, POLA spokesman Phillip Sanfield said Friday.
Staff writer Donna Littlejohn contributed to this report.
