The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have dismissed liner giant AP Moller-Maersk’s concerns that the two major US West Coast ports may implement charges for lingering containers that have been postponed repeatedly for months.
The ports, which handle about 19m teu per year combined, in November drafted a container dwell fee designed to encourage retailers to pick up their boxes and alleviate unprecedented port congestion.
But every week, they have postponed the penalty, which would rise by $100 per day per container after nine days, citing faster box retrieval and fewer container ships waiting for open berths.
