Freight forwarders are asking the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to consider lengthening the number of free storage days in cases when a consignee imports at least 10 containers.
Mariz Regis, president of the Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association, Inc. (PISFA), in an interview with PortCalls on the sidelines of the recent PISFA general membership meeting (GMM), explained “it is physically impossible for a legitimate importer to pull out, let’s say you have 20 containers, within 10 days” considering the current shortage of trucks and the still long truck turnaround.
Foreign inbound cargoes are allowed a free storage period of five days after the day the last item of cargo is discharged on the carrying vessel. After which, a scaled storage fee structure is imposed from the 6th to the 10th day of stay.
From the 11th day, fines will be imposed for Customs-cleared containers at the ports of Manila, Subic and Batangas at a rate of P5,000 for a twenty-footer, P10,000 for a forty-footer, and P11,250 for a forty-five footer.
The fines were meant to help decongest Manila ports and discourage cargo owners from using terminals as virtual warehouses.
PISFA vice-president for External Affairs Erich Lingad suggested adding 10 more free storage days for a bill of lading holding more than 10 containers.
Lingad said while the new storage fees may have little impact on consignees with only one or two containers, they would have a considerable effect on costs for those importing 10 containers or more.
He noted there is still a shortage of trucks, partly due to the slow truck turnaround and the shortage of available chassis. Moreover, some trucking companies only allot a certain number of trucks per client. This means pull out of containers numbering more than 10 is not feasible within the free storage period of five days.
Regis added that although the situation at some container yards has improved and berthing of vessels is now more or less as scheduled, the partial ease in congestion has not yet translated to lower costs.
During the PISFA GMM, PPA director for commercial services department Emma Suzara said after the January meeting between PPA and PISFA, the agency drafted an amendment to the storage rates policy increasing the free period from five days to eight days. The proposal remains a draft and needs PPA Board approval.
Earlier, Management Association of the Philippines National Security Head Fernando Peña said that instead of compelling importers to pull out their cargoes, the policy on adjusted storage fees has led to difficulty in pulling out containers because importers now need to pay “hundreds, if not millions” in storage rates.
He noted that an importer with 15 boxes and with the capacity to pull out only one per day, has to pay P150,000 upfront for all containers before he is allowed to withdraw one.
The Export Development Council is also asking for a review of the increased storage rates.
Last March 2, Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Cluster on Port Decongestion head Jose Rene Almendras announced that the Manila port operations were running normally and congestion had eased. – Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of Iamnee at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
