The Wall Street Journal and other foreign media reported that the port of LA and LB Authority voted unanimously on the 29th to charge shipping companies for overdue containers. It will be implemented for 90 days from November 1st, but it will not be until November 15th. Will officially start billing.
According to the new regulations, containers waiting to be transferred by truck can be stacked on the dock for 8 days for free, and containers transferred by rail can be stacked for 5 days. Overdue demurrage will be charged, and an additional $100 per container will be levied for every day over 1 day, and it can be accumulated indefinitely. . For example, 100 USD will be charged for 1 day overdue, 300 USD (100+200 USD) will be charged for 2 days overdue, 600 USD (300+300 USD) will be charged for 3 days overdue, 1,000 USD (400+600 USD) will be charged for 4 days overdue ), and so on, until the container leaves the dock.
In this regard, US importers and freight forwarders complained that shipping companies will inevitably pass on the cost to them, even if they can hardly control when the containers leave the port, leaving them with a sense of powerlessness.
The current situation is that due to the COVID-19 and the strike of truck drivers, no transport vehicles can be found to pick up the containers from the docks and container yards, causing the ports to become full.
Shipping companies such as the German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd AG said they have not yet decided how to deal with the new charges. MAERSK, the world's largest shipping company, said on the 28th that how the fee will be charged has yet to be determined, and more details will be announced in the next few days. But it is almost certain that the cost will eventually be passed on to the shipper.
According to LB Port officials, it is estimated that as many as 40% of the containers are overdue at the terminal. Before the outbreak of COVID-19, the time that the container stays at the terminal is usually no more than 4 days.
News from: Money DJ
