News

PierPass Program

The stated purpose of the PierPass program is to alleviate congestion at the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach. Effective July 25th, 2005, the port of LA/LB will now require all containers exiting or entering the port be subject to a peak time surcharge of $50 for a twenty foot container and $100 for forty foot and all others. Peak time is defined as Monday through Friday 3 am to 6pm.

This charge is the responsibility of the importer (or exporter in case of export) and must be paid prior to pickup of the container at the terminal. Your trucker may or may not advance this as a courtesy to you. If not, it will be your responsibility to arrange payment for each container effected through www.pierpass.org. Once you establish your account, you must pay for the surcharge using a credit card.

CBP Agriculture New Solid Wood Packaging Requirements

CBP Agriculture will now be requiring certification of fumigation of all solid wood packaging material which includes crates and pallets. Effective September 15, 2005, CBP Agriculture will now require all pallets and other solid wood packing material to be fumigated and marked as such. You can read more about these regulations here.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

The U.S. FDA has increased inspections of certain farm raised seafood products from China. Should you import these products, the FDA will likely either physically sample the items or require you to provide private lab analysis by an FDA approved laboratory at your expense. Click here for more info.