Most shipping lines postpone implementing congestion surcharges.

LOS ANGELES & LONG BEACH

CONGESTION UPDATE

Congestion issues show minimal changes at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports in turn times and chassis availability.

The White House made a brief comment Tuesday about the ongoing labor talks between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and employers, stating it is monitoring the negotiations and expressed confidence the two sides will reach a contract agreement.

Assistant White House Press Secretary Frank Benenati remarked, “just last year, there was a long negotiation at the East and Gulf coast ports. And just as the two sides in that case were able to resolve their differences through the time-tested process of collective bargaining, we're confident that management and labor at the West Coast ports can do the same thing.

Meanwhile, it appears most shipping lines are responding to the pushback from shippers and the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission over their plan to implement hefty $1,000 per 40-foot container congestion surcharges by abruptly announcing they will postpone implementing those surcharges.

Maersk Line provided a statement that included “Congestion remains a real and critical issue facing the ports on the U.S. West Coast. As a result of this, service-delivery challenges resulting in added costs at both origin and destination have created a scenario which is unsustainable. We expect service delivery challenges to continue over the foreseeable future. That said, we take the feedback and viewpoints shared with us very seriously. As a result, we will delay the application of the congestion surcharge until a thorough review can be completed with all stakeholders. The congestion surcharge will not be in effect for cargo arriving Nov. 18th, as communicated previously. As the situation develops, we will provide you with relevant and timely information on this matter.“