It is reported that, due to the surge in the number of containers arriving at the port, the Port of Houston Authority Port Commission recently approved two new fees for containers stranded at the port, in order to clear the backlog of imported cargo at the port’s two terminals.
The Port Commission decided to implement the Sustained Import Dwell Fee effective Dec. 1, 2022, and also approved the Excessive Import Dwell Fee. Fee” was also approved. Both fees are in addition to the demurrage fee.
These two fees apply to the Port of Houston’s Barbours Cut and Bayport container terminals and require payment of these fees prior to picking up containers. Both fees are charged to the shipper.
The “Continuous Import Demurrage” charge is $45 per day per container for import containers that have been in port for 8 days or more.
The “Excessive Import Demurrage” will be charged at the discretion of the Executive Director of the Port of Houston for containers that are detained for a longer period of time. The fee will be effective 30 days after the issuance of the notice and will be valid for a minimum of 60 days. The charges will be as follows
– 50 per container per day for detentions of 1-3 days after the free period.
– USD 75 per container per day for a stay of 4-7 days after the free period
– USD 100 per case per day for a stay of 8-13 days after the free period.
– USD 150 per case per day for 14 days or more after the free period.
The continuous import detention charge will not continue to accrue while the excessive import detention charge is in effect. The Port of Houston said the new charges are intended to help alleviate the problem of prolonged detention of import containers at the port by incentivizing cargo movement. The port is known to have averaged 7 to 7½ days of dwell time in the last quarter, compared to the historical average of 3½ days.