In another effort to speed up cargo processing and eliminate the backlog of ships trying to deliver goods, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, California, announced Monday that they will begin fining companies whose containers remain in marine terminals. .
According to a joint statement from the ports, containers transported by truck will incur fines if they remain in the port for nine days or more. In the case of rail containers, fines will be imposed if they remain in port for three days or more.
The measure would go into effect on November 1 and fines would start at $ 100 per container, increasing by $ 100 per container each day.
“We must accelerate the movement of cargo through ports to reduce the number of ships at anchor,” said Port of Los Angeles CEO Gene Seroka in a statement.
“Approximately 40% of the containers in our terminals today fall into two categories. If we can clear this dormant cargo, we will have much more space in our terminals to accept voids, handle exports and improve flow for the wide range of cargo owners that use our ports. ”
Long Beach Port Executive Director Mario Cordero said “immediate action” is needed in response to the “increasing backlog of ships.”
“Terminals are running out of space, and this will make room for containers on those anchored ships,” he said.
The Port of Los Angeles will begin operations around the clock as the White House pushes to remove bottlenecks from the supply chain that threaten economic recovery.
President Joe Biden recently announced an agreement for ports to operate 24 hours a day to help speed up the movement of cargo. Last week, the City of Long Beach eased restrictions on the height of stacked cargo containers in hopes of allowing more container storage at the port and moving ships more quickly.
According to the ports, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, containers for local delivery remained in maritime terminals for less than four days, while containers that were to be transported by trains remained for less than two days.
But those numbers have “increased significantly, making it difficult to clear cargo from terminals and anchor ships,” according to the ports.
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