Chassis shortages are affecting the majority of Class I railroads throughout Dallas, Chicago, Memphis, and Kansas City. When this occurs, shippers are unable to transport their containers out of facilities promptly, leading many railroads to stack boxes on the ground until the necessary gear becomes available. This issue, paired with the ongoing volume surge has caused a gridlock in the National rail system.
Recently in Memphis, a group of 40+ truckers, importers, and exporters have called on the US Surface Transportation Board (STB) to intervene in what they feel has become an unreasonable situation.
Under normal circumstances, boxes are mounted on transportation frames prior to pick up. Frustrated transporters believe that it is unfair for railroads to charge storage and demurrage fees when the underlying issue causing these delays is out of their control. This is especially true for truckers who have offered to use their own chassis to help clear congestion, only to be told that the practice of “cherry-picking” individual containers was prohibited.
It is unclear whether the STB has the authority to formally intervene, due to an exemption granted by the Interstate Commerce Commission in the 1980’s. The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) rule that container availability is a required precondition to imposing demurrage at U.S. ports is an example of the type of ruling the Memphis Chamber is asking for. Solving this issue, however, does not directly address the overwhelmed National rail system. In other parts of the country, congestion at rail terminals is mainly due to high import volumes and limited railcar availability. These impediments have yet to be formally addressed.
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