Members of the West Coast Marine Terminal Operators Agreement (WCMTOA) announced their proposed changes to the PierPass fee structure and plans to implement appointment systems for truckers serving facilities at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in the fourth quarter of this year. In late May, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) voted to issue a Request for Additional Information about the proposed amendment. FMC’s decision to request additional details from WCMTOA delayed the implementation and FMC could require specific changes to the proposal. However, the WCMTOA members believe their response will satisfy FMC and they will implement their proposal in the fourth quarter of this year.

PierPass Inc. announced earlier this year that it would adopt a new appointment system for container pickup and delivery, and a flat fee for its OffPeak program, which under the proposed amendment to the PierPass fee structure a new flat fee of USD 31.52 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit), and USD 63.04 for all other container sizes will apply. The new fee will apply for both day and night cargo, across all hours of operation. The current PierPass Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) is USD 72.09 per TEU; USD 144.18 for all other container sizes, and it applies only during daytime hours. A detailed Q&A document about the revised OffPeak program is available at www.pierpass.com

West Coast Marine Terminal Operators Agreement (WCMTOA) is FMC Agreement No. 201143. It was first authorized by FMC in June 2003 and it current includes 12 separately incorporated marine terminal operators at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Subject to FMC oversight, WCMTOA members are authorized to meet, discuss and agree on matters related to rates, charges, rules, regulations, practices, terms and other conditions of service relating to the relationship between the members and motor carriers and rail carriers serving these ports.

WCMTOA members are currently working to gather the information required by FMC. Once WCMTOA submits its response, the FMC will have another 45 days to analyze the amendment. At that point, the FMC could take no action and allow the agreement amendment and PierPass changes to proceed, or FMC could demand additional information, or it could reject the amendment. Under the Shipping Act, the FMC may seek an injunction in district court against an agreement or ocean carriers or marine terminal operators that it can prove is likely, by a reduction in competition, to produce an unreasonable reduction in service or unreasonable increase in costs.

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Several leading ocean carriers serving the Transpacific Eastbound trade lane have recently updated their FMC tariffs to provide the following Peak Season Surcharge (PSS) effective July 15, 2018. See table below for PSS amounts per 40ft container; PSS amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula.

Note 1: APL will apply PSS amounts of USD 55/110/110/140 per 20ft/40ft/40HC/45ft dry container thru 31Jul2018, and then effective August 1, 2018 implement PSS amounts of USD 510/600/600/760 per 20ft/40ft/40HC/45ft dry container. For refrigerated containers, APL will implement PSS amounts of USD 85/170/170 per 20ft/40ft/40HC container, effective July 4, 2018.

Note 2: COSCO PSS amounts are USD 100/125/125/158 per 20ft/40ft/40HC/45ft dry container and USD 150/185/185 per 20ft/40ft/40HC reefer container, effective July 2, 2018.

Note 3: Hapag Lloyd announced PSS amounts of USD 55/110/110/110 per 20ft/40ft/40HC/45ft apply for origins China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao to destinations in the USA, effective July 1, 2018. Effective August 1, 2018, the PSS amounts will be USD 270/300/300/380 per 20ft/40ft/40HC/45ft container for origins East Asia, Indian Subcontinent and Middle East to destinations in the USA.

Note 4: Hyundai Merchant applied PSS amounts effective July 1, 2018.

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Several carriers updated their respective tariffs to include new General Rate Increases (GRIs) effective July 15, 2018, including APL, CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant, Ocean Network Express, OOCL, and Yang Ming. See table below for GRI amounts per 40ft container; GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. The July 15th GRIs will be the thirteenth GRI of 2018 for the East Asia/USA trade lane.

Note 1: COSCO GRIs apply on all cargo moving under service contracts only.

Note 2: Instead of filing an increase in their tariff, Maersk announced a contract increase for effective July 15, 2018 for the Far East Asia/USA trade lane. The contract increase will affect those with service contract (SC) rates that expire July 14, 2018, who want new SC rates valid July 15, 2018 and beyond. The contract increase will be USD 480/600/600/750 per 20ft/40ft/40HC/45HC dry container, respectively. Once SC rates expire on July 14, 2018, tariff rates will apply until a SC written agreement is finalized to reflect the contract increase. Filing of original SCs with FMC is required on or before the effective date; the deadline for filing SC amendments with FMC is within 30 days of scheduled effective date.

The following carriers updated their respective tariffs to include new General Rate Increases (GRIs) effective August 1, 2018, including APL, CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant, and Ocean Network Express, OOCL, and Yang Ming. See table below for GRI amounts per 40ft container; GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. The August 1st GRIs will be the fourteenth GRI of 2018 for the East Asia/USA trade lane.

Note 1: COSCO GRIs apply on all cargo moving under service contracts only.

Note 2: Maersk announced rate increases for origins Middle East and Indian Sub-continent to the USA effective August 1, 2018. For dry containers, the rate increase will be USD 500/600/600/675 per 20ft/40ft/40HC/45HC, respectively. For reefer containers, the rate increase will be USD 600 per 40’HC.

Each carrier maintains its own tariffs and controls its own pricing.

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