Port of Long Beach to consider two incentive programs for shippers
Shippers may soon benefit from two incentive programs aimed at attracting more of their business to the Port of Long Beach, Press Telegram reports.
The Board of Harbor Commissioners on Monday will consider a program that would allow shippers to save on daily dockage fees and another program that would give them discounts on rail cargo fees if they go through Long Beach.
The proposed programs come as the Port of Long Beach faces competition from West Coast and international ports.
"It's a trade strategy to protect our market share and protect jobs in the region," said port spokesman Art Wong. "With bigger ships coming, we see that as a trend in the industry, so we're looking to establish ourselves as a `Big Ship Port."'
With the dockage incentive program, port leaders are looking to cap fees at $8,641 a day for ships longer than 345 meters (or 0.21 mile). As it stands, a large container vessel could pay more than $11,242 a day in dockage fees.
The cap is supposed to encourage larger, newer, greener container vessels to call to Long Beach.
Port leaders are also eyeing a proposed wharfage incentive program, under which the port would discount shippers $10 for every additional cargo container traveling by rail through Long Beach.
This incentive is designed to motivate shippers to ferry cargo by rail rather than trucks in order to generate less air pollution.
"They can move their cargo through any port," Wong said.
"We want to give them one more reason to move their cargo through Southern California."
To measure the extra cargo volume, the port would compare statistics from Aug. 1 through July 31 in 2011-2012 with the same time frame in 2012-2013.
If approved, both programs would start Aug. 1.
Port officials said the increased revenue will offset the cost of the program.
The commission meeting will take place at the Harbor Department Administration Building, 925 Harbor Plaza in Long Beach.