The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have postponed new surcharges for overdue containers for a second time, saying shipping lines and shippers have worked to reduce the number of containers at ports by a third. So the new charges will not be implemented before November 29, port authorities said on Monday.
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach say they've seen a 46% drop in long-term cargo volume at the terminals since the scheduled fee was announced on Oct. 25. As a result, the ports will suspend the implementation of the "container dwell fee" of 100 usd per container, until December 27.
Maersk said in the past that it anticipates the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to soon implement the dwell fee, which was announced in October and since delayed week after week, as ports continue to deal with congestion. The carrier said in a tariff notice that the likelihood that the charge would be implemented "has risen significantly this month."