PierPASS was established as a not-for-profit company in Los Angeles/Long Beach in 2005 with a goal of addressing multi-terminal congestion issues. The terminals began to have peak hours and non-peak hours, which helped the flow of trucks coming into the ports to pick up containers. The Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) was assessed on each truck that came in during “peak” hours, encouraging more movement at off-peak hours, evening hours. The strategy was to improve energy efficiency, air quality, safety and security as well as congestion in the ports.

Over the last 14 years, the TMF has increased incrementally until 2018, when the program and the fee were restructured to be applied to all containers coming out of the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, regardless of the time frame. An appointment system was established to help with both day and night truck flow and the “peak” rates were cut in half to be applied across the board. The decision was made by the members of the West Coast MTO Agreement, consisting of 12 marine terminal operators at the two ports, who met with 70 different trade/government representatives to get feedback and address potential issues. The Federal Maritime Commission agreed with the decision but pledged to monitor the change.

In a June 28 press release, the West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) announced that the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles will increase by 1.9 percent effective August 1, 2019. Next month’s increase will bring the TMF to $32.12 per TEU or $64.24 per FEU. All containers claimed prior to August 1, but moved after August 1 will be subject to the new rate and the new TMF will be due at the time of pickup from the terminal.

If you have questions, please contact us or reach out to your Ascent Global Logistics Representative directly.