As lingering cargo continues to steadily make its way out of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, leaders from both ports have once again pushed back the start date to collect on container dwell fees from ocean carriers, this time to April 8.
The fee, which would charge ocean carriers $100 for every import that stayed at terminals nine or more days plus $100 increments for every day a container remained, has been put on hold a week at a time since last fall as leaders review their dwell data.
The pandemic has played a role in the record amounts of cargo clogging up ports, including ports in San Pedro Bay. The backup has led to dozens of ships anchored at sea waiting to unload at docks.
The Oct. 25 announcement of the fee, which was developed with the Biden-Harris Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, U.S. Department of Transportation and the supply chain, has moved the needle on lingering cargo. The ports have reported a combined 56% drop in older cargo since the announcement.
