PierPass delays fee increase at LA-LB ports
Marine terminal operators at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are delaying a $10 per-container TEU increase in the PierPass traffic mitigation fee for a month until Aug. 1, the Journal of Commerce reports.
PierPass recently announced the increase to $60 per 20-foot equivalent was to take place on July 4. Bruce Wargo, president, said the delay is “in response to several shippers asking for more time.”
Terminal operators in Los Angeles-Long Beach charge a traffic mitigation fee on truck moves during the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. peak traffic period each weekday. The fee is designed to encourage shippers to move their cargo on weeknights and on Saturdays.
Some 16,000 of the 30,000 truck moves in the port complex each day now take place during the off-peak gates, Wargo said.
Most of the revenue from the fee goes to terminal operators to cover the costs of running up to five extended gates each week. However, the fee has never fully compensated terminal operators, and they have collectively lost millions of dollars a year since PierPass was established in 2005, Wargo said.
Still, the increase comes as pricing generally on the trans-Pacific has been declining amid signs of relatively weak demand heading toward the peak shipping season.
PierPass recently announced the increase to $60 per 20-foot equivalent was to take place on July 4. Bruce Wargo, president, said the delay is “in response to several shippers asking for more time.”
Terminal operators in Los Angeles-Long Beach charge a traffic mitigation fee on truck moves during the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. peak traffic period each weekday. The fee is designed to encourage shippers to move their cargo on weeknights and on Saturdays.
Some 16,000 of the 30,000 truck moves in the port complex each day now take place during the off-peak gates, Wargo said.
Most of the revenue from the fee goes to terminal operators to cover the costs of running up to five extended gates each week. However, the fee has never fully compensated terminal operators, and they have collectively lost millions of dollars a year since PierPass was established in 2005, Wargo said.
Still, the increase comes as pricing generally on the trans-Pacific has been declining amid signs of relatively weak demand heading toward the peak shipping season.
After PierPass announced the fee increase earlier this month, the operator received numerous requests for more information. The West Coast Marine Terminal Operators Association, which established PierPass, agreed to delay the fee increase until Aug. 1.
