U.S. container exports Archives - Maritime Shipping News

House passes bill expanding powers of maritime regulators

9 December 2021

By a vote of 364 to 60, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021 (OSRA) on Wednesday. The bipartisan legislation moves to the U.S. Senate, where lawmakers are preparing a companion bill they say will be introduced soon.

Spearheaded by Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., and Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., the bill gives the Federal Maritime Commission the power to impose minimum requirements on ocean carrier service contracts, and shifts the burden of proof...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/house-passes-bill-expanding-powers-of-maritime-regulators

How fast can LA clear out its ships?

15 October 2021

Now that the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have moved to 24/7 operations, pressure is mounting to reduce the backlog of ships at anchor in San Pedro Bay.

But more coordination will be required among the links in the Southern California supply chain before that can happen. And with 25 more containerships filled with holiday inventory from Asia scheduled to anchor within the next three days, results have to come fast.

As part of the ports’ new 24/7 operating plan, instead of waiting for cargo...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-fast-can-la-clear-out-its-ships

Amazon, Walmart to advise Washington on ocean freight policy

10 September 2021

Some of the largest and most powerful companies in the U.S. will now have a say in shaping transportation policy in a public forum at the Federal Maritime Commission.

The FMC announced on Thursday the first 24 members to serve on its newly formed National Shipper Advisory Committee (NSAC), evenly divided between importers and exporters. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Target (NYSE: TGT) and Office Depot (NASDAQ: ODP) are some of the big-name online and retail companies representing...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/amazon-walmart-to-advise-washington-on-ocean-freight-policy

Congress drafting law barring ocean carriers from refusing US exports

15 June 2021

Bipartisan legislation being drafted by members of the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee (House T&I) would require ocean carriers to accept all U.S. export container bookings.

The legislation, to be proposed by John Garamendi, D-Calif., and Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., is in response to mounting complaints by U.S. agricultural shippers that unscrupulous business practices by foreign container ship operators are causing them to lose money and market share overseas.

“We’ve got a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/congress-drafting-law-barring-ocean-carriers-from-refusing-u-s-exports

Container lines question claims of unreasonable rates, poor service

29 December 2020

The World Shipping Council (WSC) has pushed back against allegations by two Federal Maritime Commissioners (FMC) that the container lines are not meeting service obligations — particularly to U.S. agriculture exporters — citing a lack of evidence.

In a Monday letter to FMC Commissioners Carl Bentzel and Daniel Maffei, WSC President and CEO John Butler pointed out that the customer bases of his members — which account for 90% of global liner vessel capacity — are too varied for the association to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/container-lines-question-claims-of-unreasonable-rates-poor-service