The Port of Oakland will no longer be lenient with the long-dwelling import containers clogging its ports. On July 1, Oakland is reducing the tariff-free time from seven days to four days to reduce congestion on its marine terminal, and may raise penalties for containers that sit for too long.
The Port of Oakland is not involved with assigning demurrage rates. The late fees are charged by both the shipping lines and the marine terminals when a container is not moved out of the port within the free days offered.
If the rate structure is changed, Port of Oakland will join the two terminal operators at the Northwest Seaport Alliance of Seattle and Tacoma that have been charging long-dwell fees since November 2021. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced surcharges in October 2021, but have continued to delay the penalty citing progress in the reduction of containers.
Supply-chain bottlenecks persist
Supply-chain bottlenecks are still hampering the busiest port complex in the United States, Los Angeles and Long Beach in Southern California, which deal with 42% of all containerized trade with Asia.
As China has begun to ease its strict COVID-19 lockdown, these ports are contending with an influx of cargo of back-to-school and holiday goods. Meanwhile, U.S. railroads and warehouses remain clogged, and thousands of dockworker contracts across the West Coast will expire this week.
Source: cnbc.com