Due to the high volume of cargo, the Port of Houston (Houston) in the United States will charge overtime detention fees for containers at its container terminals from February 1, 2023.

A report from the Port of Houston in the United States pointed out that container throughput increased strongly compared with the previous year, leading the port to announce that it will continue to charge import container detention fees from the 1st of next month. Like many other ports, the Port of Houston has been struggling to maintain its The liquidity of Bayport and Barbours Cut container terminals, and solve the problem of long-term detention of some containers.

Roger Guenther, executive director of the Port of Houston, explained that the main purpose of the continuous collection of import container detention fees is to minimize the long-term storage of containers at the terminal and increase the flow of goods. It is a challenge to find that containers are parked at the terminal for a long time. The port implements this additional method, hoping to help optimize the terminal space and make the goods more smoothly delivered to the local consumers who need them.

It is reported that starting from the eighth day after the container-free period expires, the port of Houston will charge a fee of 45 US dollars per box per day, which is in addition to the demurrage fee for loading imported containers, and the cost will be borne by the cargo owner. The port initially announced the new demurrage fee scheme last October, arguing it would help reduce the amount of time containers spend at terminals, but the port was forced to delay implementing the fee until it could make the necessary software upgrades. The Port Commission also approved an exorbitant import detention fee in October, which the Port of Houston’s executive director can implement as needed after a public announcement.

The port of Houston in the United States has not announced the container throughput in December last year, but it reported that the throughput in November was strong, handling a total of 348,950TEU. Although it has declined compared with October last year, it is still an increase of 11% year-on-year. The Barbours Cut and Bayport container terminals had their fourth-highest month ever, with container volumes up 17% in the first 11 months of 2022.

According to the data, the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach jointly announced in October 2021 that if the carrier does not improve container flow and increase efforts to clear empty containers at the terminal, they will impose detention fees. The ports, which have never implemented the fee, reported in mid-December that they had seen a combined 92 percent drop in cargo piled up on docks. From January 24 this year, the port of San Pedro Bay will officially cancel the container detention fee.

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