LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach delayed imposing fees on backlogged shipping containers, mainly due to improvement in moving containers off docks amid an ongoing supply chain crunch.
There had been a 25 percent decrease in the number of import containers stacked up at the Port of Los Angeles since Oct. 24, said Gene Seroka, executive director of the American busiest port at an online press briefing Tuesday.
According to Seroka, the amount of cargo sitting nine days or longer at the port, which will trigger a fine called "Container Dwell Fee," had fallen by 29 percent.
This fine was set to take effect Monday but delayed to Nov. 22. The two neighboring ports noted in a joint statement that the number of overstaying cargo on docks had seen a 26 percent decline since Oct. 25 when the fee was announced.
Under the policy approved Oct. 29 by the Harbor Commissions of both ports, in the case of import containers destined for truck removal, ocean carriers will be charged for every container dwelling nine days or more, while for containers destined for train removal, ocean carriers will be charged if a container has dwelled for six days or more.
Each overstaying container will be charged for 100 U.S. dollars for the first day. The fine will increase by 100 dollar per day until the container leaves the terminal.
Before the pandemic-induced import surge began in mid-2020, on average, containers for local delivery remained on docks less than four days, while containers destined for trains dwelled less than two days. Enditem
