Container Fees Take Effect at SoCal Ports

The launch of a container fee program at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., led to long backups after more than 1,000 trucks were turned away for not having required electronic identification tags, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reported Thursday.

Terminal operators estimated that up to 20% of drivers were denied access to the ports, and those without required radio frequency identification device, or RFID, tags, were sent to a nearby truck center Wednesday for expedited registration, the paper said.

Trucks turned away were urged by port officials to come back on another day, the Port of Long Beach said in an e-mailed statement, and authorities said they expected the backlog to be cleared by Thursday, the Press-Telegram reported.

About 16,000 trucks visit the ports each day, which make up the biggest U.S. port complex.

The fee collection was delayed twice before, and the Federal Maritime Commission said last week it would allow the two ports to collect container fees starting this week to help carriers fund the replacement of older trucks with less-polluting newer models.