Federal Maritime Commission

Bankrupt Bed Bath & Beyond targets more ‘price-gouging’ shipping lines

The ghost of bankrupt Bed, Bath & Beyond continues to haunt the container shipping industry, seeking payback for alleged wrongs suffered during the supply chain crisis. 

Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) filed for bankruptcy protection on April 23. Its brand name was sold to Overstock in June. The liquidation of the BBBY estate is ongoing, with the bankruptcy administrator seeking to collect as much as it can via legal claims to help pay off creditors.

Court documents confirm that part of this collection...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/bankrupt-bed-bath-beyond-targets-more-price-gouging-shipping-lines

FMC publishes interim procedures for charge complaints

The United States Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), an independent federal agency, announced its interim procedures to review, investigate, and adjudicate charge complaints.

US shippers have responded positively to the new opportunity to challenge carrier charges by filing charge complaints at the FMC, which is established via the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022.

Since the law’s enactment in June, the commission has received more than 175 fillings. The process being shared clarifies the...

https://container-news.com/fmc-publishes-interim-procedures-for-charge-complaints/

FMC commissioners want rail regulators to reject CP-KCS merger

A Canadian Pacific train hauls intermodal containers across a field. A mountain range is in the distance.

Three commissioners with the Federal Maritime Commission want the Surface Transportation Board to reject Canadian Pacific’s plan to merge with Kansas City Southern, saying the merger could divert intermodal traffic from U.S. ports to Canadian ones, according to a letter to the board on Tuesday.

“While there might be economic benefits to certain shipper organizations and locations in the United States … there will be greater negative impacts relating to employment and long-term investment...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmc-commissioners-want-to-rail-regulators-to-reject-cp-kcs-merger

President signs Ocean Shipping Reform Act into law

President Joe Biden yesterday signed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA) into law. As we reported when the measure was passed, the legislation expands the authority of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in a number of ways.

President Biden, who in no fan of the major ocean carriers, turned his attention to them again in remarks made at the signing ceremony,

“Nine major shipping companies consolidated into three alliances control the vast majority of ocean shipping in the world and...

https://www.marinelog.com/legal-safety/legislation/president-signs-ocean-shipping-reform-act-into-law/

Will the Shipping Reform Act help rebalance scales? The FMC chairman thinks so.

The Port of Houston at sunset.

The scales of trade for U.S. importers and exporters have been severely tilted against them since the pandemic. President Biden is expected to sign the Ocean Shipping Reform Act on Thursday. Importers hope this update giving the Federal Maritime Commission more power will help restore that balance. SONAR charts show the current actions of the ocean carriers on rejecting container orders which has smacked U.S. exports.

SONAR: TEU rejections from all ports. To learn more about FreightWaves SONAR, c...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/shipping-reform-fmc-chairman-interview

US Congress Approves Shipping Reform Legislation to Help Ease Supply Chain Challenges

Shipping Reform Legislation

Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Salud Carbajal (D-CA), and Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) applauded House passage of S. 3580, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, sending it to the President for his signature. This bipartisan and bicameral legislation was based on H.R. 4996, which passed the House in December, and will take key steps toward easing current supply...

https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/us-congress-approves-shipping-reform-legislation-to-help-ease-supply-chain-challenges/

OFFICIAL: freight rate surge was caused by market forces; shipping competition is “vigorous”, the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission declares after two year probe

Pictured: a ship sailing toward the dawn. High freight rates of recent years were driven by market forces and the shipping industry is competitive – that is now OFFICIAL. Photo credit: via Pixabay.

High ocean freight rates of recent years were caused by the market forces of supply and demand in a supply chain challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic and an unprecedented surge in consumer demand.

That’s the OFFICIAL finding from the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, which has carried out a two-year...

https://www.shippingaustralia.com.au/official-freight-rate-surge-was-caused-by-market-forces-shipping-competition-is-vigorous-the-u-s-federal-maritime-commission-declares-after-two-year-probe/

Ocean Shipping Reform Act passes Senate

The bipartisan Ocean Shipping Reform Act, cosponsored by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D.-Minn.,) and John Thune (R.-S.D.) has passed the Senate by a voice vote.

The legislation aims to help fix supply chains and ease shipping backlogs.

“Congestion at ports and increased shipping costs pose unique challenges for U.S. exporters, who have seen the price of shipping containers increase four-fold in just two years, raising costs for consumers and hurting our businesses,” said Klobuchar. “Meanwhile,...

https://www.marinelog.com/legal-safety/legislation/ocean-shipping-reform-act-passes-senate/

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