demurrage and detention

Port commissions to vote Friday on carrier fees for lingering containers

Aerial view of container terminal at the Port of Long Beach.

The Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor commissions are scheduled to meet in emergency sessions Friday to consider penalizing ocean carriers that don’t quickly evacuate loaded containers, in an effort to reduce backlogs that are crippling supply chains.

The meetings suggest that Monday’s definitive announcement by port administrators that the surcharges will go into effect Nov. 1 is not a done deal, especially with heavy blowback coming from large swaths of the freight transportation community.

Unde...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/port-commissions-to-vote-friday-on-carrier-fees-for-lingering-containers

Ocean carriers will pass on fines for lingering containers to importers

Rail-mounted gantry cranes cull container stacks at the Port of Long Beach.

Logistics industry professionals say retailers and other cargo owners will ultimately bear the cost of drastic new fees announced Monday by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in response to mounting congestion disrupting the entire U.S. economy. 

The fees ostensibly penalize ocean carriers for not quickly clearing out imported containers piling up in their terminals, but a lack of details in the press release left freight industry stakeholders confused about how the rules will be applied.

The...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ocean-carriers-will-pass-on-fines-for-lingering-containers-to-importers

Regulators eye new container-fee rules to address alleged overcharging

In the wake of complaints that ocean carriers are overcharging customers, federal regulators are considering new rules related to fees imposed by ocean carriers for the use of their containers by shippers.

The Federal Maritime Commission voted last week to solicit public comments on two questions:

  • Whether the commission should require ocean common carriers and marine terminal operators to include certain minimum information on or with demurrage and detention billings.
  • Whether the commission...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/regulators-eye-new-container-fee-rules-to-address-alleged-overcharging

Intermodal Summit: Ocean shipping reform can create proactive supply chains

This fireside chat recap is from FreightWaves’ Intermodal Summit.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: How the Ocean Shipping Reform Act could affect drayage operations

DETAILS: Nimesh Modi, CEO of drayage marketplace BookYourCargo (BYC), dives into the Ocean Shipping Reform Act that would require common ocean carriers to adhere to best practices and regulations around detention and demurrage charges. Modi describes the problems this reform would help solve and how technology could improve from transparency of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/intermodal-summit-ocean-shipping-reform-can-create-proactive-supply-chains

Cold Chain Summit: Regulators must do more to keep cold chain moving

This fireside chat recap is from FreightWaves’ Cold Chain Summit.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Regulatory pressures of the global supply chain

DETAILS: The Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA) represents 1,300 companies in over 85 countries that are involved in the cold chain industry. Lowell Randel, GCCA’s senior vice president for government and legal affairs, talks about regulations and policy issues affecting the industry, including new transportation data requirements, truck driver recruitment, and the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cold-chain-summit-regulators-must-do-more-to-keep-cold-chain-moving

Ocean carriers: Shipping reform act ‘doomed to fail’

Container carrier representatives in Washington are pushing back hard against legislation introduced Tuesday aimed at addressing yearlong complaints against carriers by their customers alleging service failures and unfair pricing they say would have disastrous consequences for container markets.

The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021, spearheaded by Reps. John Garamendi, D-Calif., and Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., imposes minimum requirements on ocean carrier service contracts and shifts the burden of...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ocean-carriers-shipping-reform-act-doomed-to-fail

Beware ‘nasty side effects’ if government targets ocean carriers

container shipping

As skyrocketing rates squeeze importers and exporters scramble for containers, the push for government intervention is accelerating.

What if the U.S. government does move to rein in foreign carriers? What if carrier alliances are broken up, detention and demurrage charges are curtailed, export service is mandatory and — most hypothetically — spot rates are capped?

To answer these questions, American Shipper spoke with Lars Jensen of Denmark-based Vespucci Maritime. The consultant and former...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/beware-nasty-side-effects-if-government-targets-ocean-carriers

Shippers, brokers square off over ocean carrier tariff prices

Brokers booking freight on behalf of their customers say they have no choice but to pass through charges assessed by ocean carriers — charges that some shippers claim are unjustified.

That was one of the main takeaways from the only three public comments filed in response to an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in April.

The National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA), the New York New Jersey Foreign Freight...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shippers-brokers-square-off-over-ocean-carrier-tariff-prices

Shipper group pressures Congress to clamp down on ocean carriers

A request by the nation’s oldest industrial shipper group to expand federal oversight of commercial contracts between ocean carriers and their customers was swiftly rejected by the organization representing most of the world’s ocean carriers.

Frustrated by an ongoing container shortage, service delays and added shipping costs, the National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) is calling on Congress to make changes to U.S. shipping laws, including shifting the burden of proof onto carriers to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shipper-group-pressures-congress-to-clamp-down-on-ocean-carriers

GSCW chat recap: Managing the container storm

This fireside chat recap is from Day 7 of FreightWaves’ Global Supply Chain Week.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Managing the storm: The FMC’s role in addressing the container shortage.

DETAILS: Booming imports and the effects of COVID-19 are straining container supply chains while causing transportation rates to surge and port congestion to worsen. This fireside chat features Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel in a discussion about the Federal Maritime Commission’s role in this unprecedented...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/gscw-chat-recap:-managing-the-container-storm

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