On Monday, November 16th, a coalition made up of more than 50 associations and groups of shippers, truckers and customs brokers have asked, in a letter to the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), to suspend detention and demurrage charges immediately.
The letter focused on problems and inefficiencies at both West Coast and East Coast ports caused by record volume imports and tight labor. Also mentioned in the letter, coalition members say they have paid more than $150 million, between both ports, in detention and demurrage charges that they say were unreasonable.
Earlier this year, the FMC issued specific guidelines under their Interpretive Rule, which explains that demurrage and detention charges should not occur when they do not serve their incentive function, such as in circumstances when truckers cannot retrieve containers from, or return containers to marine terminals, due to port congestion. The upsurge in non-compliance with this rule is what has led truckers to now ask that the FMC step in and require the suspension of these charges in New York-New Jersey and Los Angeles-Long Beach.
One FMC commissioner has called for the FMC to investigate reports of ocean carriers continuing to charge shippers and truckers for delays that were caused by congestion-related issues. The commissioner also noted that if the interpretive rule is inefficient, perhaps further action should be considered.
Coalition members are planning to also call for an update to the 1984 Shipping Act, last modified in 1998. The environment at the ports has changed since the Act was last revised. With new technology allowing carriers to provide shipment information to other members of the supply chain in advance, truckers struggling to make appointments at the ports, and fewer carriers operating in alliances, coalition members say that the Shipping Act does not reflect all current port processes.
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