Long Beach, California, June 28, 2019
The West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) today announced that on
August 1, 2019, the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will increase by
1.9 percent. The adjustment matches the combined 1.9 percent increase in longshore wage and assessment rates
that take effect June 29.
Beginning August 1, the TMF will be $32.12 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) or $64.24 per forty-foot
container. The TMF is charged on non-exempt containers. Containers exempt from the TMF include empty
containers; import cargo or export cargo that transits the Alameda Corridor in a container and is subject to a fee
imposed by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority; and transshipment cargo. Empty chassis and bobtail
trucks are also exempt.
The OffPeak program provides regularly scheduled night or S aturday shifts to handle trucks delivering and
picking up containers at the 12 container terminals in the two adjacent ports. PierPass launched the OffPeak
program in 2005 to reduce severe cargo-related congestion and air pollution on local streets and highways
around the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. Nearly half of all port truck trips now take place during the offpeak
shifts. The container terminal operators mitigate truck traffic at their gates with appointment systems.
The TMF helps offset the cost of operating extended gate hours. Labor costs are the largest single component of
extended gate costs.
According to an analysis by maritime industry consultants SC Analytics, the net costs incurred by the terminals
to operate the off-peak shifts in 2018 totaled $288 million. During that year, the terminals received $217 .5
million from the TMF, offsetting about 76 percent of the OftPeak program’s costs.
About PierPass
PierPass is a not-for-profit company created by marine terminal operators at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of
Long Beach to address multi-terminal issues such as congestion, air quality and security. The West Coast Marine
Terminal Operator Agreement (WCMTOA) is filed with the Federal Maritime Commission, and comprises the
12 international MTOs serving the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. For more information, please see
