Transport, trade and regulation

Although the container shipping order book is the highest it has been in many years and demand remains subdued, the ground is shifting under the ocean market in new and unfamiliar ways, writes Peter Tirschwell.

Shippers want Congress to address their inability to challenge rail demurrage fees when they contract for merchant haulage, but finding a solution will be tricky, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

The carrier will pay the penalty to avoid the Federal Maritime Commission launching a formal investigation into whether it violated US detention and demurrage shipping laws.

The bipartisan legislation does not identify specific countries that manufacture the cranes that would be subject to inspection, but a statement from the co-sponsors specifically mentions China.

Rail storage has been at the forefront of recent regulatory discussion as the FMC solidifies its final rulemaking on detention and demurrage, with shippers wanting ocean carriers to be the billing party for such charges.

The growth in participation in FLOW is a signal that the private sector views the voluntary nature of the project as more amenable than governmental data-sharing mandates or legislation.

Rail storage fees continue to be a point of contention for shippers and the National Shipping Advisory Committee wants the FMC to step up and take ownership.

The change comes in advance of the FMC’s final rule on detention and demurrage billing that is due to be published in mid-June and has already generated pushback from marine terminal operators.

Ex-DOJ advisor John Crews will oversee the FMC departments that investigate and prosecute a growing number of shipping complaints.

An automotive parts importer alleges that after Evergreen failed to provide approximately 65% of contracted vessel space, it had to pay $750,000 on the spot market to secure capacity.

Logistics and industrial investment in the Asia-Pacific region was estimated at about $50 billion last year, down from a record $72 billion in 2021.

The rule changes will not have much of an initial cost impact on shippers as almost all New York-New Jersey terminals are closed on weekends and holidays, thereby not counting toward free time, and containers are now moving off the port faster.

Shippers, truckers and other transport interests have filed more than 287 complaints with the FMC since last June, mostly involving detention and demurrage billing.

The Port of Houston is changing its tariff to align with ocean carriers who are no longer charging detention and demurrage fees when terminal gates are closed, but it’s also increasing its own fees to incentivize cargo movement.

Currently, there is no US regulatory agency with direct authority to oversee application of rail storage fees under ocean carriers’ through bills of lading and to determine whether those charges are assessed properly.

The now-bankrupt retailer alleges the ocean carrier failed to provide the full vessel space it contracted for, then charged much-higher premiums to ensure its cargo wasn’t rolled.

Funds will go to projects that focus on reducing emissions from port-related truck idling, particularly in communities adjacent to ports.

The FMC is poised to implement potentially far-reaching changes in how detention and demurrage fees are assessed, a move that could cloud how to incentivize the movement of cargo through US marine terminals.

The scale of PSA International’s ambitions to expand its reach beyond its 60 container port terminals by leveraging the acquisition of a non-asset-based global logistics provider parallels Maersk’s own integrator ambitions.

The legislation would give the Federal Maritime Commission the direct ability to block carrier and terminal agreements it views as anticompetitive, without the need for a court order.