LONG BEACH, California – (BUSINESS WIRE) – The West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) announced today that the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will be increased by 2.2 percent on August 1, 2021. The adjustment corresponds to the combined 2.2 percent increase in longshore wages and tax rates, which will come into effect in early July.
As of August 1, the TMF is $ 34.21 per TEU (equivalent to a 20-foot unit) or $ 68.42 for all other container sizes. The TMF is levied on non-tax-exempt containers. Containers exempt from the TMF are empty containers; Import or export cargo that crosses the Alameda Corridor in a container and is subject to a fee collected by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority; and cargo handled. Empty chassis and bobtail trucks are also excluded.
The OffPeak program provides for regular night or Saturday shifts to handle trucks that deliver and pick up containers at the 12 container terminals in the two adjoining ports. PierPass launched the OffPeak program in 2005 to reduce severe cargo congestion and air pollution on local roads and highways around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Almost half of all port truck journeys now take place in the fringes. The container terminal operators defuse truck traffic at their gates with scheduling systems that distribute truck journeys over the operating hours.
The TMF helps offset the cost of running extended gate hours. Labor costs are the single largest component of the extended gate cost.
According to an analysis by maritime consultancy SC Analytics, the net cost of the terminals to run night shifts in 2020 was $ 276 million. That year, the terminals received $ 235 million from TMF, offsetting about 85 percent of the cost of the OffPeak program.
About PierPass
PierPass is a not-for-profit company founded by ship terminal operators in the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach to address multi-terminal issues such as congestion, air quality and safety. The West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement (WCMTOA) has been filed with the Federal Maritime Commission and covers the 12 international MTOs serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. More information is available at www.pierpass.org.
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