Maersk Line and CMA CGM have suspended planned surcharges to cover the cost of US west coast port congestion days after reinstating the levies, making their second U-turns within a week.
Both sent out customer advisories on the eve of Thanksgiving, saying that the surcharges would not be imposed after all.
Maersk said the congestion surcharge "will, for the time being, not be applied to any cargo as otherwise communicated previously".
Maersk Line and CMA CGM have suspended planned surcharges to cover the cost of US west coast port congestion days after reinstating the levies, making their second U-turns within a week.
Both sent out customer advisories on the eve of Thanksgiving, saying that the surcharges would not be imposed after all.
Maersk said the congestion surcharge "will, for the time being, not be applied to any cargo as otherwise communicated previously".
The decision to withhold surcharges came as the number of ships queueing outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach continued to grow. The Marine Exchange of Southern California said 16 were at anchor waiting for a berth Thursday morning local time, of which seven were containerships. This was two more than on Wednesday morning. New arrivals in the anchorage were the MSC Nerissa, CMA CGM Medea and NYK Constellation.
CMA CGM notified its customers that it was "suspending the implementation of the import-port congestion surcharge noted in our advisory #116-2014, dated November 25th, until further notice".
Other lines soon followed, with both Evergreen and OOCL among those that issued postponement notices during Thanksgiving Day.
The levies would have amounted to $800 per 20-ft container and $1,000 for a 40-ft box destined for the US west coast and received after a specified date.
Virtually all carriers were planning to charge shippers more to cover the added costs related to port delays caused by chassis shortages and other bottlenecks.
CMA CGM first suspended the surcharge on November 18, then reinstated it earlier this week, only to cancel it again last Wednesday.
Similarly, Maersk initially told customers on November 17 that "due to a confluence of issues impacting both ocean and landside operations resulting in a dramatic increase in the cost to move cargo across all phases of the supply chain, we will begin assessing the congestion surcharge to all cargo arriving on or after November 18, 2014".
Maersk added: "The congestion surcharge will be applied to all imports, from trades and countries within TSA scope, via USWC ports destined for any location in US, Canada and Mexico."
Two days later, the surcharge was delayed.
Then, on November 23, customers were told the surcharge had been reinstated, only to hear on November 26 that it had been postponed again.
"As you are aware, congestion is real and tangible, and a reality which will continue to impact the US west coast for the foreseeable future," Maersk said.
"That said, we have made the decision to delay the application of the congestion surcharge until further notice.
"The congestion surcharge will, for the time being, not be applied to any cargo as otherwise communicated previously."
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