As the peak season approaches, ports are gearing up to reduce the number of containers sitting on the
terminals. Action is being taken by the west and east coast as follows.
Port of Long Beach – Free Time Shortened
On July 27, 2022, Mario Cordero, Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach, distributed a letter
informing that the port would be taking steps to push the trade community to take advantage of
expanded weekend gate hours. Starting September 1, 2022, the Port of Long Beach will shorten free
time exemption by no longer excluding Saturdays and Sundays (except on legal holidays). Cordero
further stated commerce and navigation require the shortening of free time, however, it will revisit the
matter as circumstances require.
Port Authorities New York and New Jersey – New Imbalance Fee
The Port of New York and New Jersey provided a 30-day notice that they will implement a new fee
called the Container Imbalance Fee for ocean carriers beginning September 1, 2022. The container fee
will be charged to ocean carriers to reduce congestion as the peak cargo holiday season approaches.
Ocean carriers’ container volume must equal or exceed 110% of their incoming container volume during
a set period or they will be assessed a fee of $100 per container for failing to hit the benchmark. It will
count incoming and outgoing containers to include both loaded and empty containers but excluding rail
volume of a set period. Fee proceeds will be used to offset the costs of providing additional storage
capacity, and other expenses incurred by the glut of empty containers. To help manage the 12% cargo
increase year-to-date, the port has repurposed 12 acres within the Port of Newark and the Elizabeth-
Port Authority Marine Terminal for temporary storage of empty containers and long-dwelling import
containers. It has also indicated it is in the process of negotiating or investigating additional storage
space.
The Ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach – Long Dwell Fee
Since the program was announced in October 2021, both ports have seen a decline of 26% in aging
cargo on the docks. Week after week the ports postponed implementing the container dwell fee as
progress was slowly being achieved to remove long dwelling/aging containers from the terminals. The
twin ports will next consider implementing the fee on August 26, 2022.
Please contact your Western Overseas representative with any questions.
