demurrage and detention

Are drayage truckers getting off easy under FMC’s new billing rule?

Federal regulators have relieved drayage truckers from late-fee bills associated with picking up and returning cargo containers, while inadvertently — and unfairly — shifting the burden onto shippers, a major shipper group contends.

The Federal Maritime Commission’s rule on demurrage and detention, issued last week, imposed new billing standards on ocean carriers and terminal operators in an effort to crack down on abusive container late fees, often to truckers as well as shippers.

But a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/are-drayage-truckers-getting-off-easy-under-fmcs-new-billing-rule

FMC tightens rules on charging container late fees

The Federal Maritime Commission has imposed new billing standards on ocean carriers and terminal operators in an effort to crack down on abusive container late fees.

The new requirements focus on demurrage — fees charged by carriers and container terminals when full containers have not been picked up by customers within a certain number of days — and detention, the fees charged to customers if they are late returning the empty container back to the terminal.

Starting May 26, container ship...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmc-tightens-rules-on-charging-container-late-fees

New FMC rule expands shippers’ eligibility for carrier refunds

WASHINGTON — A new rule requiring ocean carriers to refund importers and exporters for illegal overcharges and potentially for other violations of the U.S. Shipping Act will go into effect next month.

The changes, set out in a final rule scheduled to be published by the Federal Maritime Commission on Monday, are in the form of amendments to the FMC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure governing the assessment and collection of civil penalties. They codify provisions included in the Ocean Shipping...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/new-fmc-rule-expands-shippers-eligibility-for-carrier-refunds

FMC proposes tighter container billing standards

Container trucking at Port of Houston.

Ocean carriers and marine terminals would be subject to stricter — and potentially costlier — billing requirements when they charge shippers for late containers under a proposal by the Federal Maritime Commission.

The FMC’s 58-page proposed rule on demurrage and detention billing requirements, scheduled to be posted in the Federal Register next week, “seeks to bring more clarity, structure, and punctuality” to the billing practices of vessel operating common carriers (VOCCs),...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmc-proposes-tighter-container-billing-standards

New York port truckers press FMC for emergency order

trucks moving containers at marine port.

Ocean carriers and marine terminals should be forced to share more accurate container storage data to improve cargo flows at the Port of New York and New Jersey, according to trucking companies serving the facility.

Those companies, which specialize in intermodal container drayage, are responding to a comment request from the Federal Maritime Commission on a potential emergency order mandating such data sharing with trucking, shippers and railroads.

The FMC was required to consider the proposed...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/new-york-port-truckers-press-fmc-for-emergency-order

FMC wants ocean carriers to pay for container storage

Port Newark Container Terminal

The head of the Federal Maritime Commission is warning ocean carriers serving the Port of New York and New Jersey to stop forcing shippers and drayage truckers to store their containers — and pay them for it when they do.

FMC Chairman Dan Maffei is ratcheting pressure on carriers following a meeting with truckers and marine terminal operators at the port on Wednesday.

“The [FMC] has already been investigating reports of carriers charging per diem container charges even when the shipper or trucker...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmc-wants-ocean-carriers-to-pay-for-container-storage

FMC needs more staff to enforce ocean shipping reforms, official says

Containership at Port of L.A.

The Federal Maritime Commission may not have enough staff to properly enforce ocean shipping reforms enacted in June, an official at the agency says.

“We are resource-strained right now,” said FMC Commissioner Carl Bentzel, speaking Monday during a webinar on the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA) and its effect on global supply chains.

FMC Commissioner Carl Bentzel

Bentzel said the FMC has six investigators to oversee $6 trillion in containerized cargo value and affiliated intermodal...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmc-needs-more-staff-to-enforce-ocean-shipping-reforms-official-says

Feds gives shippers new power to dispute ocean carrier charges

Long Beach Container Terminal

New guidance issued by federal regulators aimed at fighting unreasonable ocean carrier charges is short on detail but long on historic importance, according to a U.S. exporter group.

The advisory enacts provisions of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA), signed into law last month, by providing a simplified process for container carrier customers who want the Federal Maritime Commission to investigate their complaints.

“Today is a landmark moment in the history of the Federal Maritime...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/feds-gives-shippers-new-power-to-dispute-ocean-carrier-charges

Experts urge quick action to comply with ocean shipping reform law

Aerial view of Port of Los Angeles Pier 300

American shippers and the lawmakers supporting them were ecstatic that the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA) passed less than a year after it was introduced in Congress. However, that means all companies involved in ocean shipping must quickly start making operational changes to comply with the law, which addresses carrier billing and related issues.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) underscored that message on June 24, when the agency’s general counsel issued an opinion confirming...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/experts-urge-quick-action-to-comply-with-ocean-shipping-reform-law

Congress passes ocean shipping reform; Biden plans to sign soon

Container vessel at Port of Los Angeles

The first major overhaul of regulations governing U.S. container trades since 1998 was easily approved by Congress on Monday and President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law shortly.

By a vote of 369-42, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) of 2022, which is the Senate’s version of a reform bill passed by the House in December.

The legislation, which broadens the powers of the Federal Maritime Commission to address unfair business practices on the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/congress-passes-ocean-shipping-reform-biden-plans-to-sign-soon

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