PierPass charges rise before program start.

Cargo owners moving containers through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will see their tariff fees double earlier than planned under a more aggressive extended gates program to begin in late March.

Importers and exporters that move cargo through the ports during peak weekday shifts will have to pay $40 per 20-foot-equivalent container unit five weeks after the start of the so-called PierPass program. The program originally anticipated the price increase after five months.

Fees for the first five weeks will be $20 per TEU. Terminal operators will be reimbursed the daytime fees paid for every TEU moved during off-peak hours under both fee structures.

The changes come as a result of labor shortages on the docks, which forced terminal operators to delay the November start of the traffic mitigation program by four months.

"Nobody, would want to pay, fees that they, didn't have to," said Ezra Finkin, a legislative representative for the Waterfront Coalition, a retailers" trade group. "But if this is the only way to get an extended-hour gate, then we are happy to be paying for what we get--with the caveat that we are paying for the expenses and not anything more."

Costs to implement the PierPass program are expected to exceed $158 million during the first year, all of which is supposed to be covered by lees.

Organizers plan to assess the program's participation level at the end of the introductory period to see if the fees are covering operating costs. If not, the fees would be increased, said Bruce Wargo, general manager of the PierPass program.

Maritime officials hope that extended gate hours will entice cargo owners to move 25 percent to 30 percent of their goods during off-peak hours during the program's first year, spreading the impact of the 35,000 truck trips made in and out of the ports each day.

PierPass organizers plan to open gates for a Saturday day shift and four weekday night shifts all at once, a stepped-up approach to the original plan that anticipated adding one extended shift per month over a five-month introductory period.

But truckers, warehouse operators, importers, freight brokers and longshoremen want five extended gates, five shifts per week, from the start to provide more flexibility in planning and moving cargo.