Southern California Ports Introduce Idle Cargo Fees

The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles will charge additional shipping charges for import containers.

Ocean carriers will be charged for every container dwelling more than nine days.

For containers transported by rail, ocean carriers will be charged if the container has been at the terminal for three days or more.

“We must expedite the movement of cargo through the ports to work down the number of ships at anchor,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka in a press release. “Approximately 40% of the containers on our terminals today fall into the two categories. If we can clear this idling cargo, we’ll have much more space on our terminals to accept empties, handle exports, and improve fluidity for the wide range of cargo owners who utilize our ports.”

Before the pandemic import increase began in 2020, on average, containers for local delivery were at container terminals for less than four days, and containers destined for trains were in less than two days.

“I support the actions taken by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach today to charge ocean carriers for lingering containers on marine terminals. These actions aim to expedite the movement of goods and reduce congestion in our ports,” said John D. Porcari, Port Envoy to the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force.

“As our economy continues to grow, increased demand and disruptions caused by the pandemic are putting our supply chains to the test. While we’ve seen new records set in terms of throughput this year at West Coast ports, we need more players throughout the supply chain to keep stepping up. The federal government will continue bring together private companies and stakeholders from across the supply chain and serve as an honest broker helping to surface solutions like this to address supply chain disruptions.”

In an effort to mitigate the impact of the supply-chain crisis and delays at Long Beach Port, the city of Long Beach has relaxed its position limiting the number and/or height of shipping container storage facilities. The city manager has temporarily waived current shipping requirements, including height and stacking restrictions, until January 20, 2022.