The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have once again delayed consideration of the Container Dwell Fee, until 10 January 2022.
This marks the eighth time the policy has been pushed back due to a considerable decline in ageing cargo on the docks of the twin ports.
Executive Directors for both San Pedro Bay ports will reassess fee implementation after monitoring data over the next week.
Since its announcement on 25 October 2021, ageing cargo has seen a reduction of 35%. Although, according to a statement from the Port of Long Beach, progress has been slowed during the holiday season.
Through December 2021, the ports reported steady improvements in long-dwelling cargo, with reductions of 37% on 5 December, and then 47% on 13 December. Progress began to drop as the year drew to a close, only declining 41% on 27 December.
Shipping Analyst Lars Jensen commented on the move, saying “Clearly the status right now is essentially no different from the situation in late November.
“We may well see improvements in the coming weeks, but realistically it also implies that the postponement of the fee implementation is likely to continue beyond the next week unless the pace of improvement picks up even more than what we saw in late November and early December.”
In other recent news, the Nikola Corporation has delivered the first Nikola Tre battery-electric vehicle (BEV) pilot trucks to one of Southern California’s port trucking companies for use at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Total Transportation Services Inc. (TTSI) welcomed the new vehicles as part of its Letter of Intent (LOI) to use 100 zero-emission trucks by 2023.
The LOI is beginning with a four-truck pilot of two BEVs and two hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs).
The Nikola Tre BEV is designed for local deliveries up to 350 miles.
