Ocean Carriers Emergency Intermodal Surcharges to start next week

The current levels of congestion in every stage of the supply chain means that containers are getting stuck in bottlenecks everywhere – at origins, on waiting vessels, at ports and trans-shipment terminals, rail hubs, warehouses, etc.


As a reminder to shippers, effective August 1st, 2021, carriers will apply “Emergency Intermodal Surcharges and On/Pre-Carriage Congestion Surcharges” in the range of USD 350 per container.  This applies when it is the carrier’s responsibility to coordinate the truck and/or rail moves.   


For import cargo into the USA, congestion at ports has resulted in very short windows at the terminals for vessels to offload inbound cargo and load empty containers. It is extremely difficult to get containers out of stacks at port and rail terminals prior to the last free day.


For import cargo moving via rail, the temporary suspension and metering of rail services to Chicago last week to alleviate the backlog there reflects the measures rail and shipping operators are taking to try to chip away at the gridlock.


Truck power and chassis availability for import and export cargo drayage is extremely tight and in some markets, cannot meet the flood of demand to move cargo in and out of port terminals. In some cases, carriers may advise that they cannot perform deliveries, or will apply hefty fees as noted above to move containers to destination.


For more information on pending or planned shipments to/from the USA, please reach out to your Hillebrand representative to discuss the best possible arrangements for transport, warehousing, insurance, and customs compliance needs.