LA–Long Beach Strike Risk: How to Prepare for D&D Disputes

About 250 security watchmen represented by ILWU Local 26 at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach could strike as early as 5 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, November 1, 2026, when their latest contract extension expires, according to reporting on the negotiations. The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents the employers, expects other ILWU members to honor any picket lines. If they do, vessel, yard and gate operations could stop at the affected terminals.

For importers and forwarders, demurrage and detention (D&D) charges may arrive after the disruption. How free time and charges are counted depends on the applicable terms, access restrictions and any relief announced before, during or after a closure. Those billing practices remain subject to the Shipping Act’s reasonableness requirements. Records saved before a stoppage, through the closure and after reopening can help your team check relief eligibility and challenge disputed charges.

Which Terminals Are on the Strike Notice

As reported by gCaptain, PMA identified six container terminals that employ Local 26 watchmen, while the union’s notice to other maritime unions identified eight terminal locations:

APM Terminals
Long Beach Container Terminal (LBCT)
Total Terminals International (TTI)
SSA at C-60
SSA at A-90
Pacific Container Terminal (PCT)
LB 206
OH 55

PMA estimates that the terminals employing these watchmen handle about 85% of Long Beach cargo and 33% of Los Angeles cargo. These are the employers’ estimates. The eight-location notice should not be read as a confirmed list of eight container-terminal closures; check operating notices for each facility serving your shipments.

Reports dated October 27 and 28 say talks are continuing with federal mediators, and PMA has said it will keep negotiating beyond the deadline if needed. The watchmen’s agreement is separate from the coastwide ILWU longshore and marine-clerk agreement, which runs through 2028. A walkout has not been confirmed in the reports reviewed.

Why Closure Days Can Be Grounds to Challenge D&D Charges

The Federal Maritime Commission’s interpretive rule on demurrage and detention, 46 CFR 545.5, assesses these practices partly by whether they serve their intended purpose as financial incentives to keep freight moving. Two applications are particularly relevant to a terminal closure:

Cargo availability. The Commission may consider how far demurrage and free time are tied to whether cargo is actually available for retrieval.
Empty container return. Absent extenuating circumstances, detention charged when empties cannot be returned is likely to be found unreasonable.

Neither point automatically waives every charge. The FMC considers the facts of each dispute, including whether cargo interests fulfilled their own responsibilities, such as arranging trucking, making appointments, paying freight and completing paperwork. The rule does not identify a strike as an automatic justification for closure-day charges. Records should show what prevented pickup or return and when, alongside any restrictions unrelated to the closure.

An April 28, 2026 D.C. Circuit decision involving Evergreen illustrates why those details matter. The court upheld the FMC’s finding that disputed detention during a three-day Savannah closure was unreasonable. The trucker could not retrieve the equipment earlier, the gates were closed to returns, and Evergreen conceded it incurred no costs from the delayed return. The equipment was already beyond free time. That decision supports careful scrutiny of closure-day charges, but its specific facts do not establish an automatic waiver for this potential California stoppage.

Past LA–Long Beach Closures Show How Relief Is Scoped

Past relief has depended on the carrier, terminal and charge involved. Separate notices may cover different parts of the same disruption.

April 2023. Terminals closed for the April 6 night shift and the April 7 day shift during the longshore contract talks. ONE suspended its detention clock for April 6 and 7. For local containers, it said demurrage would follow each terminal’s own ruling, reflected in eModal.

September 2024. After a truck fire affected access to Los Angeles terminals, ONE stopped the clock on export detention and import demurrage at the specified terminals until they reopened. Its September 27 advisory named APM Terminals LA, Evergreen Container Terminal, Fenix Terminal and Yusen Terminal International.

These examples concern particular disruptions and charge categories. A shipper using several carriers and terminals may need to check multiple notices. Match each container to the advisory’s dates, facilities and charge types. For detention, that can mean equipment outside the terminal whose authorized return location is affected.

If your team will need to show which containers sat at a closed terminal on which dates, walk through how ops teams track terminal events and free time container by container.

What a D&D Invoice Must Show Under 46 CFR 541.6

The FMC’s billing rule sets minimum information requirements for D&D invoices issued by ocean common carriers, marine terminal operators and NVOCCs. Part 541 excludes billing relationships among and between ocean common carriers and marine terminal operators. For invoices within its scope, these are useful checks after a closure.

Required information	Check it against
B/L and container numbers; port of discharge for imports	Your shipment records and the facility affected
Import container availability date; export earliest return date	Actual pickup or return access, release status and any subsequent restrictions
Allowed free time, with start and end dates	The governing day-counting rules and any relief notice
Specific dates charged	Closure periods and announced suspensions
Applicable tariff rule, terminal schedule or contract provision; rates and total due	The governing terms and the calculation
Basis for the billed party’s liability	Your contractual role and shipment arrangements
Certification that charges comply with FMC D&D rules	The circumstances affecting availability and return
Certification that the billing party’s performance did not cause or contribute to the charges	Relevant instructions, restrictions and operational records

Selected requirements under 46 CFR 541.6. Also check invoice and due dates, contact details, the digital link to required dispute documentation, and request and resolution timeframes.

The billing and dispute requirements also distinguish between different parties and types of problem:

Missing information. Under §541.5, omitting required information eliminates the billed party’s obligation to pay the applicable charge on that invoice. However, a compliant replacement invoice may still be issued within the applicable deadline. The FMC does not grant extra time to correct an invoice, and the initial defect does not necessarily cancel the charge permanently.
Carrier and terminal invoices. Under §541.7(a), the invoice must be issued within 30 calendar days after the charge was last incurred. If that deadline is missed, the billed party is not required to pay the charge.
NVOCC invoices. Under §541.7(b), an NVOCC invoicing charges it received has 30 calendar days from the issuance date of the underlying invoice, rather than its receipt date. Missing that deadline also removes the payment obligation. When an NVOCC acts as both billing and billed party, it can notify its billing party of a customer dispute; §541.7(c) then requires an additional 30 calendar days for the NVOCC to dispute that charge upstream.
Requests for relief. Under §541.8, the billed party must have at least 30 calendar days from invoice issuance to request mitigation, refund or waiver. The billing party must attempt to resolve the request within 30 calendar days of receiving it, unless both parties agree to a later date. This is not a guarantee of a refund or completed resolution within 30 days.

One part of the original rule no longer applies. Section 541.4, which restricted who could be invoiced, was set aside by the D.C. Circuit on September 23, 2025, and now appears as reserved. The remaining billing requirements continue to apply, including the requirement to explain the basis for the billed party’s liability. Check that explanation against the applicable contractual arrangements and legal requirements.

If Strike Recovery Overlaps the November 7 Bridge Closure

Caltrans has scheduled the Vincent Thomas Bridge to close at 12:01 a.m. on November 7, 2026, for approximately 16 months, with reopening targeted for early March 2028. As our earlier post on the closure covers, detours could add time to affected truck journeys. The Port of Los Angeles expects its terminals to remain open during the bridge project.

If terminals reopen from a strike around November 7, a pickup backlog could coincide with the first days of the bridge detour. That is a planning scenario, not a confirmed outcome. For affected shipments, compare the revised truck route and pickup appointment with the container’s current last free day, including any announced extension.

What to Record Before and During Any Stoppage

Save a baseline before the November 1 deadline, then record changes through any closure and reopening. Keep the source and timestamp for each status update.

Per import container: terminal, discharge date, availability date, last free day and pickup status. Keep customs, carrier and freight-release information separate from evidence of physical access.
How free time counts: calendar-day or working-day definitions, treatment of weekends and holidays, and any closure provisions in the applicable tariff, terminal schedule or contract.
Pickup and return access: timestamped appointment searches, bookings, cancellations, unavailable slots and terminal restrictions. Preserve evidence of refused attempts where they occur.
Empties on the street: assigned return location, changes to instructions, alternative locations offered, and when the equipment became ready for return.
Export equipment: gate-out date, earliest return date, planned gate-in and changes to receiving windows.
Closure and reopening notices: save terminal, carrier and port advisories with timestamps, including partial openings or restrictions that remain after operations resume.
Relief advisories: record the dates, facilities, charge categories and eligibility conditions each notice covers.
Invoices and disputes: retain issuance and receipt dates, check the required information and applicable billing deadline, and record the request deadline, submission evidence and any agreed extension.

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