Ports Impose New Fees on Shipping Containers

Starting this past week, the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are charging new fees on shipping containers. Ocean carriers will be charged $100 per container, increasing by $100 increments every day until it leaves the terminal. For containers that are scheduled to move by truck, the fees will begin when containers sit longer than nine days. The fees will be imposed for those containers moving by rail if they sit at the port longer than six days. Fifteen senators, including North Dakota Senator John Hoeven and South Dakota Senator John Thune, have asked the Federal Maritime Commission to intervene.