Monday sees the start of a new $100 penalty for any container that has spent more than nine days waiting for pick-up at America\u2019s twin top maritime gateway ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.<\/p>\n
The new state-created fee<\/a><\/span> is one of many measures the White House and American ports have taken in recent months to try and alleviate the extreme container crunch that has put shipping firmly in the mainstream American media this year.<\/p>\n German carrier Hapag-Lloyd made clear that the new charge will be passed on to clients.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a port authority announced and levied charge, which, as a pass-through charge, will be for the account of the merchant,\u201d Hapag-Lloyd stated in a new update to clients.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s introduction of a late fee comes at a time when there are 82 boxships waiting for berths to free up outside America\u2019s top two ports on the west coast.<\/p>\n As of Friday there were 40,700 containers that had been waiting for more than nine days at both ports, an improvement on the 70,600 tardy boxes recorded on November 1.<\/p>\n Further north along America\u2019s congested west coast, the port of Tacoma is also readying its own late pick up charges.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n