Customs clearance at the Port of Long Beach

Long Beach files under CBP port code 2709, and Los Angeles next door files under 2704. Beyond the entry itself, Long Beach is where importers meet a set of local charges that are not customs charges at all, and confusing the two is how people end up asking their broker about money their broker never touched.

CBP port code: 2709
CBP district: 27
Official CBP name: Long Beach, California

The traffic mitigation fee, and it works the opposite way round from what people assume

The traffic mitigation fee is charged on weekday DAYTIME moves, Monday to Friday during working hours. The night and Saturday shifts are the ones it does not apply to. Almost everybody we talk to has this backwards and believes it is a surcharge for using off hours.

It is also not a government fee. It is a private charge under an agreement between the marine terminal operators, filed with the Federal Maritime Commission. CBP does not levy it, the port authorities do not levy it, and your customs broker does not collect it.

Empties, empty chassis and bobtail moves, transshipment cargo and cargo moving out via the Alameda Corridor are exempt. The rate is revised periodically, so confirm the current figure rather than relying on any number you read anywhere, including here.

Two more charges that are not duty

A clean truck fund rate applies to loaded drayage by non-exempt trucks, with zero emission trucks exempt. Separately, the Alameda Corridor use fee is assessed by the corridor authority on the RAILROADS rather than on you; what appears on your invoice is a pass-through from the carrier.

None of these three is a customs duty, a merchandise processing fee or a harbor maintenance fee. If you want to know what you genuinely owe CBP on a shipment, that is a different and much shorter list, and it is one we can tell you exactly.

Which code your entry names

Long Beach is 2709 and Los Angeles is 2704. CBP runs both from a single office with one port director, which leads people to treat the codes as interchangeable. They are not: the code follows the terminal where your vessel actually discharged.

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FAQ

What is the CBP port code for Long Beach?

2709. Los Angeles is 2704. CBP administers them from one office with one port director, but they are separate entry ports and your entry names one of them.

Is the traffic mitigation fee charged for night moves?

No, and this is the most common mistake made about it. It is charged on weekday daytime moves. The off peak night and Saturday shifts are the ones without it. It is also a private terminal operator fee filed with the Federal Maritime Commission, not a government charge.

Which of these charges does my customs broker collect?

None of them. The traffic mitigation fee, the clean truck fund rate and the Alameda Corridor fee are terminal, drayage and rail charges. What we collect on CBP's behalf is duty, the merchandise processing fee and, on ocean freight, the harbor maintenance fee.

Is the traffic mitigation fee charged on every container?

No. Empties, empty chassis and bobtail moves, transshipment cargo and cargo leaving via the Alameda Corridor are exempt. If you are being charged on an exempt move, that is a conversation with whoever issued the invoice.

Want to know what you actually owe CBP?

It is a much shorter list than your invoice suggests. Send us a shipment and we will separate the customs charges from the terminal and drayage charges line by line.

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