The Port of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) will implement a new quarterly container imbalance fee for ocean carriers as part of the seaport’s effort to reduce congestion.
The container management fee, targeting excess empty containers being stored in the port for long periods, will be effective as of 1 September 2022 pending a mandatory federal 30-day notice period.
The fee will reduce the number of excess empty containers dwelling at the port and free up much-needed capacity for containers that are full of imports and ready to be picked up by cargo owners.
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The container imbalance fee will be assessed on ocean carriers who do not evacuate empty containers that take up needed space for arriving imports and impede overall port productivity and fluidity.
Under this new container management fee, which will be assessed on a quarterly basis, ocean carriers’ total outgoing container volume must equal or exceed 110 per cent of their incoming container volume during the same period, or they will be assessed a fee of $100 per container for failing to hit this benchmark.
Incoming and outgoing containers include both loaded and empty containers, excluding rail volume.
Fee proceeds will be used to offset the costs of providing additional storage capacity, and other expenses incurred by the glut of empty containers.
The seaport has been handling a cargo increase of nearly 12 per cent year-to-date compared to the same period last year and an astounding rise of 34 per cent in cargo volume compared to the same period during pre-pandemic 2019.
“We rely heavily on our port partners as the downstream links in a vast global supply chain that needs full cooperation in order for international commerce to function and deliver the essential goods that the region’s residents need,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole.
“As we continue to manage record cargo volume and work with our tenants and port stakeholders for the removal of empty containers in a timely manner, we call on all industry stakeholders to find sustainable, long-term solutions to an industrywide problem affecting many US ports.”
“Our seaport has largely managed to avoid many of the national supply chain challenges affecting other U.S. ports due to our continued collaboration and communication with port partners and stakeholders. This new proactive container management approach is an example of our Port Department’s ability to identify and implement solutions before they cause logjams in our region,” said Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton.
In addition to the fee, the Port Authority has taken other steps to manage the empty containers, including the repurposing of 12 acres within Port Newark and the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal for temporary storage of empty containers and long-dwelling import containers, and is in the process of negotiating or investigating additional storage space.
The agency has met with ocean carriers both individually and as an industry and identified additional mitigation strategies, conducting targeted outreach to shipping companies and cargo owners currently storing their import containers within the port for excessive periods.
Through much of the pandemic, the port’s terminal operators have offered longer weekday hours and weekend terminal hours to allow additional access to truck operators willing and able to work outside of traditional terminal operating hours.
The authority has published the tariff language detailing the new container imbalance fee on its website for the 30-day public comment period.
The fee will be reassessed when the global supply chain crisis eases, with a review as needed to the agency’s Board of Commissioners no later than September 2023.
