Long Beach to introduce incentives for rail cargo

The Board voted unanimously to create a tariff amendment that would lower certain fees by 10% on all rail-connected cargo containers, and would offer US$20 per teu for new rail-hauled cargo coming through the Port. The new incentives could begin as early as April 1 and will last for one year.

Cargo volume declined at the Port by 11% in 2008 compared with the previous year, while traffic in December 2008 and January 2009 showed drops of about 25% year-on-year. Rail-hauled cargo to or from sites outside California makes up about half of the containers that pass through the Port.

In the first incentive, Long Beach will offer a 10% rate reduction to terminal operators on wharfage fees for all rail-hauled cargo coming through the Port. This would be about US$4–US$6 per container, and would cost the Port about US$11m for the year-long life of the programme.