We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • ProMat 2023
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Global Logistics and Risk
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • ProMat 2023
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Exporters cheer U.S. effort to clear shipping container blockage

Exporters cheer U.S. effort to clear shipping container blockage

Federal Maritime Commission to investigate ocean carriers operating in alliances as shippers wince under late fees.

containers on ship
November 20, 2020
Ben Ames
No Comments

Logistics providers are cheering a possible solution to skyrocketing container-detention fees they say have spiked in recent weeks, following news today that the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has opened an investigation into the enforcement of ocean carrier and marine terminal practices.

For months, both shippers and carriers have complained of knots and tangles in the international fabric of trade, as boxes have piled up in U.S. warehouses and the shipping lanes that reach them, leading to a related shortage of containers in Asia.

For example, the Port of Los Angeles on Wednesday reported that container traffic for October marked the busiest month in the facility’s 114-year history, but that sunny statistic hid a troubling detail. According to the port, for every three and a half containers that are imported into Los Angeles from abroad, only one container leaves American shores filled with U.S. exports. 

Reasons for the imbalance include pandemic impacts such as hot U.S. demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) manufactured in Asia and a simultaneous shutdown of many North American manufacturing plants during Covid-19 shutdowns. Many containers are also tied up in the annual peak season surge of imports to the U.S. market, which was concentrated into a shorter period than usual in 2020 due to coronavirus disruptions. That flood of imports has stranded many containers at crowded maritime ports awaiting drayage to trucks and rail cars, according to Container xChange, a German firm that helps forwarders get access to third party container equipment while avoiding demurrage and detention charges.

Federal officials will now open a fact finding mission intended to investigate ocean carriers operating in alliances and calling the Port of Long Beach, the Port of Los Angeles, or the Port of New York and New Jersey, FMC said. The commission is the independent federal agency responsible for regulating the U.S. international ocean transportation system for the benefit of U.S. exporters, importers, and the U.S. consumer.

"The Commission has a compelling responsibility to investigate the situations that currently exist in our major port gateways. The Commission is concerned that certain practices of ocean carriers and their marine terminals may be amplifying the negative effect of bottlenecks at these ports and may be contrary to provisions in the Shipping Act of 1984,” FMC Commissioner Rebecca F. Dye said in a release. “The potentially unreasonable practices of carriers and marine terminals regarding container return, export containers, and demurrage and detention charges in the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and New York/New Jersey present a serious risk to the ability of the United States to handle trade growth.”

Shipper industry groups cheered the move, with the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) saying the investigation was “terrific news” for U.S. exporters, importers, forwarders, and truckers. In a release, the AgTC said its members have provided information to the commission on “current supply chain dysfunction” caused by carrier and terminal practices including: refusal to carry export cargo, cancelling export bookings/refusing new bookings, lack of appointments, changing earliest return dates (ERDs), lack of free time, and lack of notice.

The group has complained for weeks about the rising costs faced by exporters when carriers make “unpredictable, last minute” changes to ERDs, which mark the earliest date that exporters can bring a container into a terminal. Without that knowledge, exports face additional demurrage, storage, chassis, and trucking costs, the AgTC said.

In similar statements, groups such as the British International Freight  Association (BIFA) and the FIATA (International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations) also backed the FMC, saying that freight forwarders and the shippers they work for are reeling from unjust demurrage fees linked to congestion in ports around the world, according to published reports.

Commission Approves Supplemental Order Expanding Fact Finding 29 Authority https://t.co/6YlXAVuwGY

— FMC (@FMC_gov) November 20, 2020
Maritime & Ocean Regulation/Government
KEYWORDS Agriculture Transportation Coalition Container xChange Federal Maritime Commission
    • Related Articles

      CMA CGM adds capacity to meet demand on Asia-Europe routes

      U.S. government forms supply chain "advisory committee" to support competitiveness of U.S. exporters

      The Logistics Matters podcast: Peter Friedmann of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition on how the container shortage is creating a crisis for agriculture products exporters | Season 2 Episode 11

    Benames
    Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.

    Recent Articles by Ben Ames

    C.H. Robinson picks former Ford and Amazon executive as next CEO

    Port of Los Angeles re-opens container terminals after work stoppages

    Retail groups renew call for White House to step in to labor talks at West Coast ports

    You must login or register in order to post a comment.

    Report Abusive Comment

    Most Popular Articles

    • Union Pacific agrees to provide more predictable schedules for union rail workers

    • Schneider National opens innovation center at Wisconsin headquarters

    • DHL Supply Chain will expand Locus Robotics fleet to 5,000 AMRs

    • Parcel carriers, shippers steer into choppy waters as a perfect storm of challenges approaches

    • Trucking companies face “modestly unfavorable” outlook heading into 2024

    Now Playing on DCV-TV

    B0d646ac 1d71 44f7 9c47 80a0858638b7

    Improve Overhead Access with Custom VRCs

    DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    Tackling high-reach storage challenges is easy with Autoquip Lifts. We offer a wide variety of design features for Vertical Reciprocating Conveyors, or VRCs, to safely transfer materials from multiple levels based on the client’s specific needs. Don’t know where to start? We can create the perfect hydraulic or...

    FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

    • How to Use Economic Uncertainty to Gain Competitive Ground with Automation

    • Exploring Customized Forklift Solutions

    • Exploring the Future of Labor Management With Capacity Planning

    • Three layers of forklift safety: Promoting operating best practices

    View More

    Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

    GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • NEWSLETTERS
    • ADVERTISING
    • CUSTOMER CARE
    • CONTACT
    • ABOUT
    • STAFF
    • PRIVACY POLICY

    Copyright ©2023. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing