Port of Tacoma’s Husky Terminal has introduced an import surcharge for containers remaining more than 15 calendar days in the terminal, effective from 1 November, as a part of its effort to reduce the surge of dwell times in the port.
The ‘Long Stay Rehandling Charge’ is US$315 per unit. The terminal said in an announcement that “payment will be due prior to release and payable through its online portal or CargoSprint.”
“Over the past months, local import dwell on the terminal has grown exponentially despite our number remaining similar to our 2020 volumes,” said a Terminal representative.
Husky Terminal has therefore taken actions to cope with the port’s bottlenecks and keep cargo moving smoothly since August, such as the launch of two additional rubber tyre gantry (RTG) cranes helping the development of the daily delivery capacity. Tacoma’s terminal is also open on weekends.
These measures, however, could not decrease significantly the overall number of high dwelling units, and the terminal officials explained that this is the reason why they set the ‘Long Stay Rehandling Charge’.
“Regrettably, the deterioration in import velocity has directly impacted yard fluidity. This action is being implemented in an effort to encourage improved velocity,” stated Husky Terminal officials.
Furthermore, the terminal urged its customers to target picking up high dwelling units to avoid the additional fee and reminded them that gates will remain open on Saturdays until 20 November from 7 a.m until 4 p.m., in order to facilitate the process.
