Terminal operators at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports in California soon will impose a “traffic mitigation fee” to incentivize the movement of containers during off-peak hours. The fee -- announced Nov. 10 by the West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement, a group of 12 container terminals in the L.A.-Long Beach region -- will be imposed Dec. 1 to Jan. 31, 2022, from 7 a.m. to 5:59 p.m. Monday through Friday. The terminals will charge $78.23 per 20-foot equivalent unit or $156.46 for “all other sizes of container for non-exempt international container moves through the terminals.” The fee is “subject to regulatory clearance” by the Federal Maritime Commission, the WCMTOA said.

Non-vessel-operating common carriers should soon begin seeing the effects of the recently announced surcharges at two California ports (see 2111030027), the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in a Nov. 4 email to members. But the group also said non-vessel-operating common carriers have options to mitigate the charges.

The threat of a new surcharge meant to more quickly move dwelling containers at California ports is already working, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka told Splash 247.com. The ports of L.A. and Long Beach announced the fee last week and said they would start imposing fines Nov. 15, but Seroka said the ports may not have to follow through if “progress is being made clearing our docks,” according to the Nov. 3 report. Seroka also said the charge was a “last resort” after ports “tried diplomacy, we’ve tried collaboration, operations meetings all around.” Shippers strongly opposed the surcharge (see 2110280031).

Dwell time for rail cargo at the Port of Los Angeles has dropped from its peak of 13 days down to about four days, the port said Oct. 6. Supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have caused port congestion and delays for more than a year, especially near Los Angeles, where dozens of anchored ships face delays (see 2109200048 and 2102020050).

The Federal Maritime Commission is proposing to modernize and clarify some requirements associated with the filing of marine terminal operator schedules, the FMC said Sept. 21. The proposed changes are “non-policy related” and are intended to update “outdated” requirements while making the “existing requirements and definitions consistent with other parts” of the FMC’s regulations. The changes include a clarification to the definition of “bulk cargo,” a revision to the definition of “marine terminal operator,” and a removal of other “unnecessary language relating to accessing electronically published MTO schedules.” Comments are due Nov. 22.

The Federal Maritime Commission approved some recommendations made by Commissioner Rebecca Dye in July to address ocean freight delivery and port issues (see 2107290021), the commission said Sept. 25. Under one recommendation, the FMC will issue a “policy statement” to provide guidance to shippers seeking to obtain reparations for violations of the Shipping Act, including unfair detention and demurrage fees. The statement will provide guidance on the “scope of the prohibition against carrier retaliation,” when attorney fees may be imposed on the losing party, and who may file a complaint with the FMC.

The National Retail Federation seeks a meeting with President Joe Biden to address the congestion at key U.S. maritime ports that’s “causing significant challenges for America’s retailers,” NRF CEO Matthew Shay wrote to the White House June 14. The congestion has “added days and weeks to our supply chains,” leading to “inventory shortages impacting our ability to serve our customers,” Shay said. The delays “have added significant transportation and warehousing costs” that many larger retailers can absorb, but smaller retailers “may have no choice but to pass along these costs” to consumers, he said. Retailers continue to work with the ports and transportation providers to resolve the congestion, but “[w]e need strong leadership from the administration to galvanize attention to the current situation as well as work to resolve long-standing issues that limit safe and efficient port operations,” Shay said. The White House didn’t comment.

U.S. retail ports handled 2.27 million 20-foot containers or their equivalents in March, up 21.2 percent from February, the National Retail Federation reported. It was the highest single-month volume since NRF began tracking imports in 2002, it said. “Despite the continuing pandemic, most consumers are in good financial health and aren’t hesitating to spend,” said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president-supply chain and customs policy. “More spending translates into more merchandise arriving at our ports as retailers continue to meet increasing demand. The cargo surge that began last fall doesn’t show any sign of stopping.” The March volume was up 64.9% from 2020, but the year-over-year growth “was artificially high because many Asian factories had shut down” in March 2020 due to the pandemic, and “most U.S. stores were being ordered to close,” NRF said.

Shipping regulations should be revised to allow the Federal Maritime Commission to better address unfair detention and demurrage fees, agricultural export issues and a range of other shipping problems at U.S. ports, FMC Chair Daniel Maffei said. While he didn’t propose any concrete changes, he said he is “frustrated” with the situation at the nation’s ports and is speaking with Congress about potentially proposing regulatory changes. “I'm not prepared to go into any details now, but I do think that some things clearly need to be clarified,” Maffei said during a May 5 National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference. “There are many, many areas where the law is vague or so outdated because it simply was written mostly in the time of tariffs, and now it's mostly contracts.”

A new container terminal at the port of Charleston, South Carolina, is the first container terminal to open in the U.S. since 2009, the South Carolina Ports Authority said April 9. The authority said the terminal was “20 years in the making” and expects it to offer some relief to highly congested container ports around the country, which are struggling to handle unprecedented levels of cargo. The first vessel arrived at the port last week.