Fines To Begin Monday For Unmoved Containers At Ports Of LA, Long Beach
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – In the ongoing effort to ease the logjam of cargo ships sitting off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, beginning Monday, authorities may begin issuing fines to companies for lingering containers.
Dozens of cargo ships have been anchored offshore from the ports of L.A. and Long Beach for weeks, leading to a major supply chain crisis nationwide. The logjam is due partly to the shortage of warehouse workers and truck drivers to pick up goods.
However, once the ships are unloaded, its lead to a new litany of problems, with surrounding neighborhoods being used for storage, trucks idling for hours in residential streets and even property damage.
The new fines are designed to get the supply chain moving again. Containers that are ready for truck transport will have nine days before the fines incur. After those nine days, a $100 fine per container will be assessed, with an additional $100 every day that each container remains at the port.
Rail containers, transported by train, will have three days before the same set of fines incur.
President Joe Biden announced last month that a plan had been reached in which the Port of L.A. would operate 24 hours a day in an effort to ease the bottleneck. The White House has also considered deploying the National Guard, a move which was also requested from L.A. City Attorney Mike Feuer.
On Thursday, a multi-billion loan agreement was announced between the state and the U.S. Department of Transportation to improve shipping infastructure at the ports.
