The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced it has initiated an expedited inquiry to examine U.S. trucking and delivery arrangements of ocean carriers. U.S. cargo owners have forwarded complaints to the FMC claiming that some ocean carriers are unilaterally changing service contract terms by cancelling the port/container yard to final customer destination leg of the cargo shipment. These cancellations are allegedly due to lack of inland truck availability.

The Commission’s Bureau of Enforcement has initiated an expedited inquiry into these ocean carrier actions. Letters to ocean carriers were sent by FMC on April 20, 2018 to those ocean carriers whose service contract actions have been called into question. In this inquiry, the Commission is seeking information that will assist in understanding the timing, fairness, and lawfulness of the alleged unilateral changes to ocean carriers’ obligations for inland trucking services.

This inquiry is separate from the formal fact-finding investigation headed by Commissioner Rebecca Dye to focus on the practices of vessel operating common carriers and marine terminal operators related to detention, demurrage, and per diem charges. FMC Fact Finding Investigation No. 28 is moving forward. In early April ocean carriers were ordered by FMC to provide detailed information about their detention and demurrage practices, especially regarding circumstances where shippers are not able to retrieve cargo.

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FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye recently represented the Federal Maritime Commission at the U.S.-China Bilateral Maritime Consultations in Beijing, China. During this event, Commissioner Dye led discussions on topics related to competition and efficiency within the shipping industry. She specifically addressed FMC Fact Finding Investigation No. 28 into detention and demurrage charges, as well as developments related to ocean carrier alliances. Delegates from the Maritime Administration and the United States Coast Guard addressed issues related to safety, security, disaster response, and research and development. Representatives of the China’s Ministry of Transportation (MOT) provided briefs on shipping, trade, and commercial issues, including improving port infrastructure in the United States.

Commissioner Dye said she had substantive discussions with her Chinese counterparts on the topics addressed, particularly on the matter of the detention and demurrage investigation. She noted the Commission recently served information demands on ocean carriers and marine terminal operators, including China-based companies. That would include Cosco Shipping Lines Co., Ltd and Orient Overseas Container Line Limited (OOCL).

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PierPass Inc. announced that the members of the West Coast Marine Terminal Operators Agreement (WCMTOA) plan to adopt an appointment system and a flat fee for its OffPeak program, effective August 1, 2018. Subject to regulatory review, the new flat fee will be USD 31.52 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit), and USD 63.04 for all other container sizes. The new flat fee will apply for both day and night cargo, across all hours of operation. The current PierPass Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) is USD 72.09 per TEU; USD 144.18 for all other container sizes. Visit the PierPass website at http://pierpass.org for more information.

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Several carriers updated their respective tariffs to include new General Rate Increases (GRIs) effective May 15, 2018, including APL, CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant, Ocean Network Express, OOCL, and Yang Ming. See table below for GRI amounts per 40ft container; GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. The May 15th GRIs will be the ninth GRI of 2018 for the East Asia/USA trade lane.

Note 1: COSCO GRIs apply on all cargo moving under service contracts only.

Some carriers updated their respective tariffs to include new General Rate Increases (GRIs) effective June 1, 2018, including APL, CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd, and Yang Ming. See table below for GRI amounts per 40ft container; GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. The June 1st GRIs will be the tenth GRI of 2018 for the East Asia/USA trade lane.

Note 1: COSCO GRIs apply on all cargo moving under service contracts only.

Note 2: Instead of filing a general rate increase in its FMC tariff, Maersk Line announced a contract increase for effective June 1, 2018 for the Far East Asia/USA trade lane. The contract increase will affect shippers with service contract (SC) rates that expire May 31, 2018, who want new SC rates valid June 1, 2018 and beyond. This contract increase will be USD 480/600/600/750 per 20ft/40ft/40HC/45HC dry container, respectively. Once SC rates expire on May 31, 2018, tariff rates will apply until a SC written agreement is finalized to reflect the contract increase. Filing of original SCs with FMC is required on or before the effective date; the deadline for filing SC amendments with FMC is within 30 days of scheduled effective date.

Each carrier maintains its own tariffs and controls its own pricing.

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