The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have dismissed liner giant AP Moller-Maersk’s concerns that the two major US West Coast ports may implement charges for lingering containers that have been postponed repeatedly for months.
The ports, which handle about 19m teu per year combined, in November drafted a container dwell fee designed to encourage retailers to pick up their boxes and alleviate unprecedented port congestion.
But every week, they have postponed the penalty, which would rise by $100 per day per container after nine days, citing faster box retrieval and fewer container ships waiting for open berths.
But Copenhagen-based Maersk is worried that they may pull the trigger on the fees, saying that the global supply chain is still getting choked by port congestion.
“Given that congestion continues to impact vessel and landside supply chain operations, the likelihood of the [Biden] administration implementing the fee has risen significantly this month,” container ship operator said in a rate announcement.
The Port of Los Angeles alone had as many as 90 container ships at anchorage in mid-November, but that number has fallen to around 15 vessels, according to statistics released every Friday.
“We will report out again tomorrow but I’m not aware of any plan to implement the fee,” spokesman Phillip Sanfield told TradeWinds.
“The threat of the fee has done a very good job helping to reduce long-dwell containers between 50% and 75% since the fee was announced on 25 October.”
The Port of Long Beach does not plan to implement the fee either since the number of boxes sitting at its terminals has fallen considerably, spokesman Lee Peterson said.
“The situation is evaluated by the port executive directors each Friday morning, and the last evaluation was to continue the delay,” he told TradeWinds.
He also said that the number of ships awaiting open berths has declined from a high of 109 vessels in January to 28 units this week.
Not dwelling as much
“The number of long-dwelling containers has been reduced by 50% at the two ports — Long Beach and Los Angeles,” he said.
A few weeks ago, Maersk said it would start transferring long-standing import containers in its Los Angeles and Newark gateways to off-dock yards as of 16 May.
“While we continue to make progress, similar dray-off programmes are being considered in other locations such as Seattle, Houston, Savannah and Chicago,” the company said.
Maersk has also encouraged customers with cargo at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to take advantage of a “Saturday Gate Incentive” that offers a $100-per-container credit for import pickups. The incentive has been extended to 18 June.
“We understand the fee implementation could put all parties involved in a difficult situation as truck, chassis, and warehouse capacity are all extremely stretched,” Maersk said.
“We ask for your continued support in prioritising the pickup of ageing cargo as we work together to restore fluidity of the marine terminals and inland hubs for a more reliable supply chain.”
