Emergency Container Dwell and Storage Fees by US Port and Terminal Operator
In response to the massive congestion at US West Coast port terminals, ocean carriers and port authorities and terminal operators deployed multiple measures to reduce gridlock: omitting port calls, increasing gate and terminals hours, and most recently, introducing excess container dwell fees or storage charges.
With all these announcements, we wanted to provide our members an overview of what has been implemented, where, what has been postponed, and how to prepare for these additional charges. While these fees have been introduced so far only at US West Coast ports and terminals, there is industry speculation that additional US ports, East coast in particular, could follow.
The emergency dwell fee introduced by the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and Port of Long Beach (POLB), which operate as public port authorities (landlords who rent space to terminal operators), is billed to ocean carriers, who in turn would pass it over to cargo owners. This charge has been announced but has not been enforced; next review is January 10th, 2022.
Private terminal operators at US West Coast container ports have also introduced excess container dwell, temporary storage or rehandling charges. These are local terminal charges and are billed to the importer listed on the shipping documents.
If excess container dwell fees are applicable on any import shipment, whether imposed by port authorities or by private terminal operators, the charges are the responsibility of the cargo owner.
Charges are incremental based on the length of the stay after listed free time has expired, starting between $48-100 per day or as posted.
See the link to container dwell fees by port / terminal at the bottom of the message.
| Port | Issued By | Charge | Effective |
| Los Angeles, Long Beach | POLA, POLB | Emergency Dwell Fee | November 1, 2021 *postponed to Jan 10, 2022 |
| Long Beach | ITS Terminal | Temporary Storage Charge | January 10, 2022 |
| Long Beach | LBCT | Temporary Storage Charge | January 15, 2022 |
| Long Beach | SSA (PCT and Pier A) | Temporary Storage Charge | December 15, 2021 |
| Long Beach | TTI | Extended on-terminal storage charge / congestion fee | January 10, 2022 |
| Oakland | SSA (OICT) | Extended Dwell Time Fee | December 20, 2021 |
| Seattle | SSA (Terminal 5, 18, 30) | Temporary Storage Charge | December 1, 2021 |
| Tacoma | Husky Terminal | Long Stay Rehandling Charge | November 15, 2021 |
| Tacoma | Washington United Terminals | Long Stay Rehandling Charge | November 15, 2021 |
See full list of the terminal charges and tariff schedules here.