Container Logjam Eases as L.A. Port Threatens Penalties

The historic traffic jam at the Port of Los Angeles has eased slightly as ocean carriers face fines for letting cargo linger and “sweeper ships” arrive to haul off empty containers.

The number of import containers at the nation’s largest port has fallen by one-quarter to 71,000 since last month, when it and the rival Port of Long Beach announced a plan to assess a fee of $100 a day on containers overstaying their welcome. While the ports have since delayed penalizing ocean carriers, the threat of the fines has helped clear their yards some.