Last-minute reprieve: LA/LB delays pulling trigger on congestion fee

It came down to the wire, but the highly controversial Los Angeles/Long Beach congestion fee backed by the Biden administration is not happening — at least, not yet.

The ports were scheduled to begin charging ocean carriers $100 per import container starting Monday for boxes moving by truck that dwelled for nine or more days, and for boxes dwelling for six or more days that move by rail. The charge was scheduled to escalate by $100 a day until the container left the property.

The ports announced Monday that they will “delay consideration” of the fee until Nov. 22, citing a 26% reduction in long-dwelling containers since the plan was announced on Oct. 25.

“There’s been significant improvement in clearing import containers from our docks in recent weeks,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. According to Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero, “Clearly, everyone is working together to speed the movement of the cargo and reduce the backlog of ships off the coast as quickly as possible.”