Washington United Terminals (WUT) has introduced a Long Stay Rehandling fee for long-term dwelling containers as congestion in ports across the US West Coast continues to build.
From 15 November 2021 all import units that have exceeded 15 calendar days on the terminal will incur a $310 Long Stay Rehandling Fee.
Units at the terminal yard, based at the Port of Tacoma, will be placed on hold and payment will be due prior to making an appointment.
Payments will be a manual process to begin with and will require payment via check or wire transfer but will eventually be made through eModal, WUT wrote.
The increased dwell has also caused additional yard rehandling and the need to constantly restock the rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) delivery rows, WUT added.
“This past year has been a difficult one for all,” the terminal wrote in a company update.
“Despite our best efforts, the local import container dwell at WUT has continued to increase which has directly impacted our operations and terminal fluidity.
“WUT has made every effort to make and keep cargo available for pick up, but unfortunately the long dwell containers are making this extremely difficult.
“This action is designed to encourage the rapid movement of local import containers. WUT urges customers to pick up high dwelling units before the inception date to avoid the additional fee,” WUT added.
The news comes following the introduction of a $315 fee from the Husky Terminal at the same port on 3 November.
Following on from the recently-introduced surcharge from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, in a special notice Husky wrote that local import dwell on the terminal has grown significantly although volumes have remained similar to 2020 levels.
Congestion is not just limited to the ports of southern California: in October MSC announced it will be temporarily omitting the Port of Seattle from its Eagle service due to increased waiting time for vessel berthing brought on by the ongoing congestion crisis.
