OffPeak program to continue providing traffic congestion relief and improved air quality

LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 3, 2009 – Marine terminal operators at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach today announced they will maintain the current Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) of $50 per TEU despite notable losses associated with the OffPeak program.

Members of the goods movement industry indicated that lower cargo volume has affected their business and that raising the TMF to cover higher labor costs and other ancillary expenses would create additional financial challenges.  Given the current economic climate and significant drop in cargo volumes, marine terminal operators have taken significant action to cut costs. Those cost-cutting measures have maintained the viability of the OffPeak program and helped preserve the current TMF.

“By keeping rates the same, the marine terminal operators continue to lose money on night gate operations, but the goods movement industry retains the flexibility and adaptability to weather the economic downturn while preserving and increasing gains on environmental protection and congestion relief,” said PierPASS President and CEO Bruce Wargo.

Revenue from the TMF has decreased due to lower cargo container volume at the two ports. In March, terminal operators announced they would eliminate one PierPASS OffPeak shift per week. The new schedule went into effect April 6.

The OffPeak program was established in 2005 to reduce congestion and air pollution in and around the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Under the program, all international container terminals in the two ports established five new shifts per week (Monday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.). As an incentive to use the new OffPeak shifts and to cover the added cost of the shifts, a Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) is required for most cargo movement during peak hours (Monday through Friday, 3 a.m. to 6 p.m.).  The program is administered by PierPASS, a not-for-profit company created by marine terminal operators at the ports to address multi-terminal issues such as congestion, security and air quality.

For more information, please go to www.pierpass.org.