As expected, the container demurrage fees at Los Angeles and Long Beach ports were postponed by once again. sinceIt has been two months since Los Angeles and Long Beach Port announced the imposition of container demurrage in October, and the demurrage policy has not been implemented.
It is understood that since the announcement of demurrageOn December 20, the number of containers eligible for charges at Los Angeles and Long Beach ports has decreased by 46%, and the problem of container detention at ports is gradually easing.
However, the number of detained containers is decreasing, but at the same time, the problem of empty container detention is gradually emerging.
Port of Los Angelesexecutive directorGene Seroka isLast week said that,In the port of Los Angeles, nearly71000 containers. Among them, there are60% of empty containers stayed at the Los Angeles terminal for 9 days or more. As of the end of November, the ratio of the number of empty containers in the terminalcorresponding period of last yearIs higher than11%。 At the same time, the number of empty containers in Los Angeles Port will continue to increase as imported containers continue to enter the terminal.
"We urge liner shipping companies to introduce more and larger sweeping vessels to clean these empty containers," he said. "We will look for alternatives, including charging liner companies for empty containers that overstay at our shipping terminals."
Is Los Angeles Harbor going to play again"The wolf is coming" game?
It is estimated by the agency that,Except during the Lunar New Year holiday, the pressure on the port is expected to beallNo relief.SerokaOn, with retailersMassive importsReplenish inventory, imported from the United StatesamountstayFebruaryWill have beenStay high after the holidays, the import volume willAdd again.
Forecast issued by American Retail Federationindicate, the import volume will increase year-on-year this month4.6%，next yearIn January and February, the growth rate was 9% and 7.3% respectively.
It is understood that due to port congestion, companies such as Amazon that choose to charter ships sometimes choose to avoid the congested Los Angeles and Long Beach ports to find suitable ports. At the same time, some containers have been diverted to ports on the east coast. U.S.AThe import data in November showed that the container import volume of the West Coast ports decreased by 7.5% compared with the same period last year. The import volume of ports on the east coast and the Gulf of Mexico increased by 9.9% year on year.