Transport, trade and regulation

The Federal Maritime Commission hopes to increase its team to 160 full-time staff to boost enforcement capabilities and deepen its monitoring of shipping alliances.

For the second time in two weeks, a container line has been assessed a US civil penalty for collecting detention fees last year when it allegedly did not provide drayage providers with a means to return empty containers.

Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel wants the agency to regulate rail storage fees in certain cases when ocean containers cannot be picked up from an intermodal terminal through no fault of the cargo owner.

The ruling against Hapag-Lloyd could well be a bellwether for future actions against shipping lines relating to what shippers and drayage providers consider unfair assessment of demurrage and detention fees.

The matter of empty containers highlights the dizzying complexity of the modern supply chain, wherein gains for drayage truckers and marine terminals can be interpreted as a loss for exporters.

Two members of the Federal Maritime Commission say ocean carriers need to tread lightly when assessing per diem container fees that are related to the cyber-attack on forwarder Expeditors.

The Intermodal Association of North America said that it has an effective dispute resolution process for per diem container bills that could be disrupted if new federal rules are adopted.

New complaints to the US Federal Maritime Commission over the alleged failure of carriers to move volumes committed in ocean freight contracts suggests shipper frustration with capacity availability and rates remains high.

The Federal Maritime Commission is adding the availability of export capacity to its ongoing scrutiny of how ocean carriers are operating in the US.

Democratic senators took the opportunity of a recent committee meeting to drill FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei on sky-high freight rates charged by ocean carriers amid declining service levels.

The millions of open jobs that US employers are struggling to fill has led to significant wage inflation in the two years since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived on US shores, the former director of the National Economic Council told TPM22.

The US Federal Maritime Commission and Department of Justice outlined additional resource sharing as part of their efforts to police container shipping.

The US Department of Transportation said that it has nearly doubled the amount of grant money it had last year to support port improvement projects through the US.

Although White House Port Envoy John Porcari is stepping down from leading the White House’s intervention in port operations, the administration will continue to push for short- and long-term fixes for port congestion.

The Federal Maritime Commission is looking for comments over the next month about how it can make detention and demurrage billing more transparent, accurate, and timely.

The Senate’s Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 calls for container lines and terminal operators to validate container storage fees while strengthening their common carriage responsibilities.

The impact of investigations by the Federal Maritime Commission into container shipping — driven by new leadership and pressure from the White House — pales in comparison to fast-moving reform legislation making its way through Congress.

A bill in the US House of Representatives is looking to restrict the number of US importers that can ship goods duty-free by keeping below the $800 threshold for so-called de minimis shipments.

Although the US supply chain is in desperate need of more chassis, it will take a while longer before enough chassis are injected into the market to make a notable difference.

Despite the urgency around decarbonizing one of the world’s most polluting industries, the IMO continues to struggle to achieve consensus on the way forward among its 175 member states.

Clearing an unprecedented number of low-value shipments driven by cross-border e-commerce will require US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to leverage automation.

The US secretaries of Transportation and Agriculture are urging ocean carriers to bring more ships to Oakland and Portland so agriculture shippers can get their products to market.

The drive by the federal government to address short-term supply chain pressures — most notably through fast-moving legislation that would reshape US container shipping regulation — would foster major long-term changes.

An effort by the US Federal Maritime Commission to facilitate data sharing in supply chains needs to be global in nature and focused around resolving data conflicts between carriers and terminals, experts said.

Near-term operational issues make it difficult for supply chain leaders to focus on climate change, but scientific reports are driving greater urgency to achieve fully decarbonized operations.

The World Shipping Council, representing major container lines, is asking federal maritime regulators to hold off on weighing on new Southern California port tariffs until the fees have been implemented on Nov. 15.

An exemption to the US’ large employer vaccine mandate granted to outdoor workers may cover truck drivers, the American Trucking Association argues. But it’s not clear that exemption would apply to all types of truck drivers.

Stakeholders agree the US logistics sector is facing its biggest strains ever due to high consumer demand and inventory restocking after COVID-19.

US Customs and Border Protection is stepping up its efforts to reduce port congestion amid record imports by working with customs brokers to target illegal shipments, thereby freeing up staff and resources to expedite clearance of legitimate imports.

FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said the agency is still investigating issues around surprise surcharges and hopes to lay out better rules on detention and demurrage soon.

Worsening port congestion is forcing western governments to realize that strong infrastructure is crucial to global trade and that migration rules need to be eased in order to fill supply chain jobs.

If passed into law as currently written, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021 would bring about the most profound changes to maritime contracting since the 1998 version by allowing the government to weigh in on what constitutes a “reasonable” agreement.

The National Industrial Transportation League said that it will get a new executive director as it ends a management services agreement with an outside organization.

A demurrage dispute between a New York customs broker and Mediterranean Shipping Co. unmasks the degree to which key communication of shipment milestones is overly reliant on email.

Two cases before the Federal Maritime Commission will test the limits of the regulator’s interpretative rule on detention and demurrage penalties.

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.

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.

The Federal Maritime Commission said it is taking steps toward addressing detention and demurrage bills that US shippers and truckers are facing.

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.

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.