The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners announced a hike in container fees on March 18. Shippers are just awaiting a verdict on when & by how much the hike will be. Projected as a ‘green’ measure, the hike is apparently aimed at raising funds for pollution reduction projects initiatives as well as improving infrastructure.

‘The Maritime Air Quality Policy’ statement was unanimously passed by appointed commissioners. Shippers urged them to resist a strategy, which they characterised as misguided. “Shippers have shown willingness to pay a fair share of the cost of improving infrastructure and air quality in the ports,” stated senior vice president, govt. relations for the National Retail Federation (NRF) Steve Pfister. He added: “We cannot support proposals, which would be illegal, unfair, & ultimately ineffective.”

Released exactly a year ago, the plan was jointly prepared by the American Association of Railroads, NRF, the Waterfront Coalition, the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association and other groups that are involved in the cargo shipment through California ports. “While the fees address just California ports, they’re of interest to retailers nationwide since those ports act as the gateway for the majority of merchandise - imported from Asia,” stated Pfister.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 20th, 2008 at 12:06 pm and is filed under Boxtainer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.