Container dwell fee at LA and Long Beach ports set to end

Following its initial announcement in October 2021, port officials have announced that the emergency container dwell fee at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is set to end on January 24th, 2023.

The emergency container dwell fee was set to be implemented across the West Coast ports to combat severe backlogs and heavy congestion due to record high container traffic passing through both ocean and rail terminals, however, it has never actually been issued to any carriers. The threat of the fee incentivised carriers to clear containers from terminals whilst pushing the flow of traffic to alternative US ports, resulting in a 92% decline in long-dwell containers across LA and Long Beach over a 14 month period.

With traffic subsiding on the US West Coast, East Coast ports such as New York and New Jersey as well as some Gulf Coast ports, including Houston, have seen rising congestion levels and have subsequently contemplated introducing their own dwell fees. With capacity now available on the West Coast once again, many shippers are looking to rebalance cargo flows to avoid further supply chain disruption.

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