California Ports Postpone New Surcharges by 1 Week
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach postponed until next week consideration of a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers, the two California ports announced Nov. 15. The ports originally said they would begin imposing the fee Nov. 15 (see 2111030027) but pushed the start date to Nov. 22 because of the “significant improvement in clearing import containers from our docks in recent weeks,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said.
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The ports said they’ve seen a 26% decline in “aging cargo” on their docks since they first announced the fee in October. “This encouraging momentum supports a delay in implementation of the fee,” the ports said. Seroka said they will continue to “closely monitor the data as we approach November 22.”
The fee, if implemented, will impose additional charges for containers moving by truck and dwelling for nine days or more, and for containers moving by rail and dwelling for six days or more. The October announcement was met with strong backlash from the shipping community, which said ocean carriers would likely pass on the extra charges to shippers (see 2110280031).
“We’re encouraged by the progress our supply chain partners have made in helping our terminals shed long-dwelling import containers,” Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero said. “Clearly, everyone is working together to speed the movement of cargo and reduce the backlog of ships off the coast as quickly as possible.”