7 August 2008

California Senate approves $30-per-TEU container fee

This article is extracted from the 5 August 2008 edition of “The Journal of Commerce”.

The California Senate on Tuesday approved an infrastructure and environmental mitigation bill that will levy a $30-per-TEU charge on containers moving through the ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland.

Opponents of the bill, including carrier and shipper organizations and the state of Hawaii, which views it as a tax on its shipments to and from the mainland, must now wait to see if it is signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The governor’s signature would cap a three-year effort by sponsor Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, to levy a container fee to fund intermodal infrastructure projects and pollution-reduction efforts at California’s largest ports.

The governor has 12 days after officially receiving the bill to sign it. …

The fee of $30 per loaded TEU and $60 per loaded FEU would be charged to the beneficial cargo owner. The fees are expected to generate about $400 million a year in revenue to be split equally among intermodal rail-related projects and environmental mitigation for trade-related projects.

The Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, which represents shipping lines and terminal operators, has consistently opposed container fees at California’s ports….