The Federal Maritime Commission has released two annual reports on its performance and made these
available at its web site: www.fmc.gov
The
Commission’s Program Performance Report for Fiscal Year
(FY) 2005 briefly compares and summarizes actual performance compared with projected levels of
performance established in the agency’s FY 2005 Revised Final Annual Performance Plan.
In the other report, its Performance and Accountability Report for FY 2005, the Commission
provides extensive detail on its program performance (108 pages). This report begins with
a management discussion and analysis, and includes a complete auditors report and financial
statements. According a memo prepared by the FMC Inspector General included in this report
the key management challenges facing the FMC are: information technology, financial management
and contract management.

Upgrades to the FMC’s web site and its
SERVCON system for electronic filing, storage and
retrieval of service contract are the focus of specific remarks in these FMC reports. During
fiscal year 2005 the FMC received 50,200 new service contracts and 224,160 contract amendments
from ocean carriers. NVOCCs also began using the system to file NVOCC service arrangements
(NSAs). The Commission made information security for SERVCON a top priority in 2005 and
corrected weaknesses and deficiencies in the system. The FMC terminated the contract to
operate SERVCON off-site, transferred management of the system to FMC staff, re-wrote
systems security and password features. Disaster recovery testing for SERVCON is
expected to be accomplished in early 2006, at which time all corrected actions recommended
under the audit will be completed.

The carrier members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA), FMC Agreement No.
011223, serving the East Asia/USA trade lane have amended their FMC tariffs to provide for
increases to Bunker Adjustment Factors (BAF), and Inland Fuel Charges, both effective
January 1, 2006. Details of these charges are as follows:

Bunker (BAF): US$ 450/PC20, US$ 590/PC40, US$ 660/PC40 hi-cube, US$ 760/PC45 and US$ 13/WM.

Inland Fuel Charge (IFC): US$ 222 per container for mini-landbridge and inland point
intermodal shipments moving via rail, US$ 64 per container for local and regional “Group 4”
truck transport within California, Oregon and Washington, and for East Coast local store-door
truck moves.

The Currency Adjustment Factor (CAF) for shipments from Japan will be reduced to 3% effective
January 1, 2006.

TSA member carriers are American President Lines, CMA-CGM, COSCO Container Lines Ltd.,
Evergreen Marine Corp., Hanjin Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd Container Line, Hyundai Merchant Marine,
“K” Line, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, NYK Line, OOCL and Yangming Marine. Additional information
on
surcharges applied by the TSA Carriers is available at http://www.tsacarriers.org.

The Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA), whose member carriers serve the
trade from the USA to East Asia, have amended their FMC tariffs to apply increases to Bunker
Adjustment Factors (BAF) and Inland Fuel Charges, and amendments to Currency Adjustment
Factors (CAF). These are effective January 1, 2006.

The 11 members of WTSA are American President Lines, China Shipping Container Lines,
COSCO Container Lines, Evergreen Marine Corp., Hanjin Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd Container
Line, Hyundai Merchant Marine, “K” Line, NYK Line, OOCL, and Yang Ming Marine. For
more
information visit www.wtsacarriers.org.

The Alameda Corridor Charge will increase effective January 1, 2006. This charge is applied
by most carriers serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to recover charges assessed
by the Alameda Corridor Transportation
Authority (ACTA) on all cargo moving via rail through
these ports. To apply these charges, ocean carriers and NVOCCs must file it in their FMC
Tariffs. Details are as follows:

The Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement (TACA), whose member carriers serve the
trade between
the USA and North Europe, United Kingdom and Ireland, Scandinavia and Baltic Ports, have
made
FMC tariff filings required to implement the first phase of their previously announced
General
Rate Increases (GRI) for 2006. TACA has not yet increased its Bunker Adjustment Factors
(BAF),
but increases are expected to be announced shortly. TACA’s Currency Adjustment Factor
(CAF)
remains at 6 percent through January 15, 2006.

GRI, effective January 1, 2006: Eastbound and Westbound, dry and temperature
controlled
containers, US$ 160/20′, US$ 200/40’/45′. Additional GRIs are planned for implementation
on
April 1, July 1 and September 1, 2006.

Bunker (BAF), valid thru January 15, 2006, traffic to/from and via:

TACA members are Atlantic Container Line, A.P. Moller-Maersk Sealand,
Mediterranean Shipping Co.,
Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) Line, Orient Overseas Container Line, and P&O
Nedlloyd Limited.
Revisions to surcharges for transportation services are published in TACA’s relevant
FMC tariffs and on its website: www.tacaconf.com.