Earlier this year, U.S. agriculture exporters initiated a political campaign against ocean carriers for unfair discrimination. The fight was led by the Agriculture Transportation Coalition who argued that carriers were refusing or canceling exporter bookings and instead prioritizing repositioning empty containers back to Asia.
Although this effort did result in the FMC launching a formal fact-finding investigation, ultimately their authority to impose penalties was limited, as ocean carriers are not required to carry shipments at a loss in the United States, where the industry is essentially de-regulated.
Now, a federal advisory committee is working with the U.S. Department of Commerce to assist agricultural and manufacturing exporters in securing ocean and rail capacity, perhaps through monetary support or subsidies for transportation costs. The Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness met on April 22nd to discuss this topic as well as others, including our new Administration’s economic initiatives and Executive Order on Supply Chains.
IMPORT VS. EXPORT
Bookings continue to be rolled multiple times at the ports, the National rail system is overwhelmed by import volumes, and truckers throughout the country, who are also needed to relocate containers to remote inland locations, are in short supply. Currently, trucking power is maxed out between port appointments and major metropolitan areas where most imports are unloaded.
Despite these challenges, containerized agricultural exports in the U.S. were up by 4.3% year-over-year during the 12 months ending February 28th. More recently, soybean exports were up about 57% over the past six months compared to the same period last year.
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