Beginning January 17, the Marine terminal operators at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will suspend Saturday OffPeak shifts due to declining cargo volume. The new weekly schedule comes into effect on January 17, 2009.  The last PierPass OffPeak Saturday shift will be on January 10, 2009.

As the economy has slowed sharply, cargo container volume at the two ports in October and November fell 19 percent compared with the same period in 2007. Labor costs on Saturdays are 1.5 times the base rate, while night shift labor rates are 1.33 times the base rate.

The OffPeak program, administered by PierPASS, was established in 2005 to reduce congestion and air pollution in and around the ports. Under the program, all international container terminals in the two ports established five new shifts per week (Monday through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. and
Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.). As an incentive to use the new OffPeak shifts and to cover the added cost of the shifts, a Traffic Mitigation Fee ("TMF") is required for most cargo movement during peak hours (Monday through Friday, 3 a.m. to 6 p.m.). 

The marine terminal operators, through an independent consultant, are analyzing the current costs for the OffPeak program, assessing current traffic patterns and volume and the impact of ending the Saturday shift. The evaluation is scheduled to be completed in January. The terminal operators will then determine whether any modification to the TMF is warranted.