LONG BEACH, Calif., June 27, 2017 – The West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) today announced that on August 1, 2017, the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will increase by 2.3 percent. The adjustment matches the combined 2.3 percent increase in longshore wage and assessment rates that take effect on July 1.
Beginning August 1, the TMF will be $72.09 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) or $144.18 per forty-foot container. The TMF is charged only on containers that are moved between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on weekdays. No TMF is due for containers moved during OffPeak shifts (6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. on weekdays or 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays).
OffPeak provides these regular night and Saturday work shifts to handle trucks delivering and picking up containers at the 13 container terminals in the two adjacent ports. PierPass launched the OffPeak program in 2005 to reduce severe cargo-related congestion and air pollution on local streets and highways around the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Nearly half of all port truck trips now take place during the OffPeak shifts.
Using a congestion pricing model, PierPass charges a TMF on weekday daytime cargo moves to incentivize cargo owners to use the OffPeak shifts. The TMF also helps offset the cost of operating extended gate hours. Labor costs are the largest single component of extended gate costs.
According to an analysis by maritime industry consultants SC Analytics, the net costs incurred by the terminals to operate the OffPeak shifts in 2016 totaled $224.7 million. During that year, the terminals received $182.7 million from the TMF, offsetting about 81 percent of the OffPeak program’s costs.
About PierPass
PierPass is a not-for-profit company created by marine terminal operators at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach to address multi-terminal issues such as congestion, air quality and security. The West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement (WCMTOA) is filed with the Federal Maritime Commission, and comprises the 13 international MTOs serving the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. For more information, please see www.pierpass.org.
PierPass Customer Service Numbers:
877-863-3310 (from inside the United States)
1-973-355-3575 (from outside the United States)