LONG BEACH, Calif., July 8, 2016 – The West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) today announced a 1.9 percent increase in the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, scheduled to take effect on August 8, 2016. The increase will sustain continued operation of PierPass OffPeak gates amid labor cost increases.
Beginning August 8, the TMF will be increased to $70.49 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) or $140.98 per forty-foot container.
The adjustment falls under Rule 7 of WCMTOA’s Marine Terminal Schedule No. 1, which states, “Beginning in mid-2012, the Fee shall be adjusted annually to reflect increases in labor costs based on Pacific Maritime Association maritime labor cost figures.” The PMA negotiates and administers maritime labor agreements with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).
PierPass launched the OffPeak program in 2005 to reduce severe cargo-related congestion on local streets and highways around the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. OffPeak established regular night and Saturday work shifts to handle trucks delivering and picking up containers at the 13 container terminals in the two adjacent ports.
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 pay for the labor and other costs of operating the OffPeak shifts.
According to an analysis by maritime industry consultants SC Analytics, the costs incurred by the terminals to operate the OffPeak shifts in 2015 totaled $236.2 million. During the year, the terminals received $168.9 million from the Traffic Mitigation Fee, offsetting only part of the OffPeak program’s costs.
Since 2005, OffPeak has taken more than 35 million truck trips out of daytime Southern California traffic and diverted them to less congested nights and weekends. About half of all port truck trips now take place during the OffPeak shifts.