Two cases before the Federal Maritime Commission will test the limits of the regulator’s interpretative rule on detention and demurrage penalties.
Regulation & Policy
Regulation & Policy
The global regulatory environment surrounding international trade has never been more difficult — and risky — to manage. From international trade law to customs regulations, trade compliance has risen to the top of the priority list among global importers and exporters. In the age of free trade agreements that link different customs and cultures, the challenges will only mount in the years ahead.
News & Analysis
21 Sep 2021
Demand fueled tonnage growth at for-hire contract carriers in August, according to the American Trucking Associations, but supply chain disruption and shortages still constrain overall capacity.
20 Sep 2021
Ocean carriers, terminal operators, and stevedores have joined to fight against the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021, arguing the bill will cause detention and demurrage to increase and further constrain the supply chain.
20 Sep 2021
Investors have backed technology provider Altana AI’s vision of building a map of trade network to underpin solutions for shippers, logistics providers, and customs agencies.
17 Sep 2021
A Brazilian wood importer is the latest shipper to strike back with a Federal Maritime Commission complaint that alleges unfair treatment from CMA CGM and Fenix Marine.
17 Sep 2021
Importers’ failure to return chassis equipment in a timely manner is tying up equipment, causing disruption that has spurred the top US rail regulator to ask whether the railroads have gone too far in paring intermodal networks to please investors.
16 Sep 2021
A huge funding round for Utah-based digital customs technology provider Zonos shows that online cross-borders sellers new to international trade struggle to accurately calculate the cost of duties.
15 Sep 2021
The Federal Maritime Commission said it is taking steps toward addressing detention and demurrage bills that US shippers and truckers are facing.
13 Sep 2021
A US Congressman said other legislative priorities will delay any regulatory relief for US importers and exporters until well after peak season, despite growing calls for more immediate ocean carrier oversight.
09 Sep 2021
As part of the National Shipper Advisory Committee, the likes of Wal-Mart, Amazon, and DuPont will give guidance to the Federal Maritime Commission as the federal agency steps up its monitoring of the industry.
08 Sep 2021
The Federal Maritime Commission is meeting with global regulators as part of its regularly scheduled conferences regarding issues facing the container shipping industry.
07 Sep 2021
Controlling dangerous wood-boring pests in wood packaging material will require more consistent enforcement across the US and helping the private sector learn how to look for these pests themselves.
03 Sep 2021
The impact of Hurricane Ida pushed already high truckload spot prices even higher this week, digital brokers say, as capacity becomes more dislocated at the start of trucking’s peak season.
03 Sep 2021
A stronger than expected round of hiring in August brought transportation and warehousing payrolls back to pre-pandemic levels, but new employees aren’t distributed evenly.
01 Sep 2021
The responses of two major carriers to an importer’s complaint to the US Federal Maritime Commission underscores the difficulty in using a regulatory avenue to settle contract disputes.
27 Aug 2021
The White House named a former deputy secretary for the Department of Transportation to work with ports and related businesses to find ways to relieve the port congestion seen across the US.
16 Aug 2021
Increased infrastructure investment and regulation may help the US regain some of the economic ground it has lost in competing against China.
12 Aug 2021
Forget the fall, the peak US truck shipping season is under way now, trucking analysts say, with spot truckload rates elevated and contract rates still climbing.
10 Aug 2021
The Tuesday introduction of a bill that would significantly change US shipping law for the first time in two decades drew sharp fire from container lines, who argue the legislation is infused with “unfairness” that risks making imports and exports more expensive.
05 Aug 2021
A US importer’s complaint to US regulators of not getting trans-Pacific service contracts honored underscores how cargo demand and diminished efficiency leading to tighter capacity across all modes including ports is creating conflicts with carriers over agreed contracted volume allocations.
04 Aug 2021
Federal maritime regulators have ordered eight container lines to provide details showing how port congestion surcharges meet legal and regulatory requirements, the latest escalation in increased US oversight of container shipping.
03 Aug 2021
US ports and inland waterways are on track to receive at least $11.8 billion in new federal funding over the next five years through an infrastructure bill moving through Congress over the next two weeks.
01 Aug 2021
A formal complaint from a US home goods importer to maritime regulators is the first of its kind since the COVID-19 pandemic began and speaks to a growing sentiment among shippers and some forwarders that container lines have unfairly taken advantage of the resulting disruption.
29 Jul 2021
Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel is looking into China’s dominance of intermodal equipment manufacturing as a potential risk area for shippers and carriers.
28 Jul 2021
FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye on Wednesday made recommendations on how Congress and the agency itself can beef up its enforcement of unlawful detention and demurrage.
28 Jul 2021
The proposed Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021 could restrain carriers from imposing legitimate detention and demurrage fees, undermining the goal of systemwide container fluidity.
26 Jul 2021
The Biden administration has nominated a former longshoreman and state representative from the state of Washington to replace Michael Khouri on the US Federal Maritime Commission.
23 Jul 2021
The US Surface Transportation Board wants the seven Class I railroads to explain their policies and practices for demurrage fees, but the agency is holding off on regulating them more — for now.
22 Jul 2021
The Biden administration is wading into ocean regulatory waters via an executive order, upping pressure on maritime regulators to crack down on illegal behavior and work more closely with the Department of Justice.
20 Jul 2021
US maritime regulators have told the top container lines operating in the United States to open up their books for an audit of how they assess storage charges amid increased pressure from Congress and the White House to crack down on unreasonable detention and demurrage fees.
18 Jul 2021
A bill expected to be introduced in Congress in August would drive a sweeping bipartisan overhaul of US shipping law if passed.
13 Jul 2021
Digital forwarders and investors are eyeing an underserved Latin American market with a combination of service models that have found success in other markets and local expertise that is difficult to replicate for outsiders.
12 Jul 2021
The agreement creates a framework for Federal Maritime Commission and Department of Justice officials to share information and expertise when relevant and useful to monitoring and enforcing shipping law.
24 Jun 2021
The US Department of Transportation met with groups representing major container lines and retailers, and officials say they are looking at solutions to mitigate the capacity crunch causing port congestion.
23 Jun 2021
There is a danger in Congress legislating an update to US shipping law during a crisis — a potential overreach and overreaction to an unprecedented global crisis that could ultimately hurt the shippers so-called reforms hope to help.
23 Jun 2021
A lack of truck drivers and equipment, not a cooler economy, is behind a recent drop in for-hire trucking tonnage and spot market volume, as demand overshoots supply chain capacity.
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