Long Beach, L.A. ports again delay container penalty

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach once more postponed implementing a fee on companies whose import containers linger at marine terminals, with the assessment now potentially taking effect, if necessary, on Friday.

The Container Dwell Fee has been delayed numerous times, with port officials citing as the reason continued progress in reducing the number of containers at the terminals. The ports, for example, reported on Friday that they'd seen a 49% combined decline in aging cargo on the docks since the fee was announced in late October.

That percentage, however, has worsened the last two weeks. On April 1, the ports said there had been a 56% decline and the week before, it was 57%.

Over the next week, port officials will monitor and reassess the fee's implementation.

The fee was initially set to go into effect Nov. 1, but port ofifcials quickly pushed it back to Nov. 15 to give ocean carriers time to comply. When Nov. 15 came, the ports delayed the fee until Nov. 22 — and have held off on implementing it every week since then.

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.

Harbor commissions for both Long Beach and Los Angeles unanimously approved the policy Oct. 29, to be in effect for 90 days. The pilot program has since been extended through April 29.

The fines, if implemented, would 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 ports 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.