Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, informed that imposing fines on carriers for lingering containers is helping to get containers moving.
As Seroka noted during an interview the new policy urges arriving containers to be moved by truck to leave the ports within nine days, with containers set to move by rail within six days.
If that does not happen, fees of $100 a day per container will apply for containers that dwell at the terminals.
The new rule is already in effect as from November 1, but no penalties will be assessed before November 15.
If progress is being made clearing our docks, I have the discretion to delay the start of fees beyond November 15. Our goal is to see significant improvement on our docks so that we don’t need to administer any fees
said Seroka in a statement.
What is more, if fees are collected, the ports will invest them in “programs designed to enhance efficiency, accelerate cargo velocity, and address congestion impacts.”
Furthermore, during an interview on CNBC, Seroka also noted that of the 73 vessels waiting to unload containers, 50 “represent many of the 10 newcomers to the trade this year, plus at least a half a dozen retailers that have decided to charter ships to bring them in.”
Many of these folks did not have reservations at the Ports of Long Beach or Los Angeles, even after they loaded cargo and the vessel began its journey across the Pacific. We try to hustle these folks in wherever we have a gap in time, which is few and far between, to get those vessels worked as well
