Several carriers serving the USA/East Asia trade lanes (U.S. Exports) have adjusted their fuel surcharges for the July to September 2021 quarter. Here is a table of carriers that have posted BAF amounts:

NOTE 1: CMA CGM calls the above Bunker surcharge the Bunker Adjustment Factor Surcharge (BAF-03), tariff Rule No. 010.4.

NOTE 2: HMM calls the above charge the Bunker Surcharge (BUC) Rule No. 10-02A.

NOTE 3: ONE calls the above Bunker surcharge the ONE Bunker Surcharge (OBS). Any reference to Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) or Fuel Adjustment Factor (FAF) within a duly filed service contract shall be construed as referencing the same surcharge as ONE Bunker Surcharge (OBS) as detailed within tariff Rule No. 102.001, whether as an exception or as a reference to this charge.

NOTE 4: OOCL calls the above Bunker surcharge the Fuel Cost Recovery Charge (T-62). The Fuel Cost Recovery Charge will not apply to shipments when Bunker Surcharge and/or Low Sulphur Fuel Surcharge and/or Low Sulphur Adjustment Charge are already applied or included in the base rate.

NOTE 5: Yang Ming calls the above Bunker surcharge the New Bunker Charge, rule number 10-AH.

NOTE 6: ZIM calls the above Bunker Charge the New Bunker Factor – Far East (NBF), Rule 010-NB. The NBF is effective May 1, 2021 until further notice. Service contract cargoes subject to Carrier’s published BAF and/or EBS shall not be subject to NBF.

NOTE 7: Subject to Low Sulphur Fuel Charge (LSF or LSS).

NOTE 8: Updated on a monthly basis.

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

Several leading carriers serving the Trans Pacific container trades have recently updated their respective tariffs to include new General Rate Increases (GRIs) effective June 15, 2021, including CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd, HMM Company Limited, Ocean Network Express (ONE), Yang Ming, and ZIM. See table below for GRI amounts per 40ft container; GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. The June 15th GRIs will be the twelfth GRI of 2021 for the East Asia/USA trade lane.

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

Some carriers updated their tariffs to include new General Rate Increases (GRIs) effective July 1, 2021, including CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd, HMM Company Limited, Ocean Network Express (ONE), and Yang Ming. See table below for GRI amounts per 40ft container; GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. The July 1st GRIs will be the thirteenth GRI of 2021 for the East Asia/USA trade lane.

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

NOTE 2: HMM GRIs apply USD 1000 per 40ft container for cargo to destinations USWC, USEC, US Gulf coast, and USD 2000 per 40ft container for cargo to destinations IPI / MLB / RIPI. GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula.

Several carriers serving the East Asia/USA trade lanes (U.S. Imports) have adjusted fuel surcharges effective July 1 through September 30, 2021.

Here is a table of BAF amounts posted by carriers:

NOTE 1: CMA CGM calls the above Bunker surcharge the Bunker Adjustment Factor Surcharge (BAF03), tariff Rule No. 010.08.

NOTE 2: HMM calls the above charge the Bunker Charge, tariff Rule 2-63.

NOTE 3: ONE calls the above Bunker surcharge the ONE Bunker Surcharge (OBS). Any reference to Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) or Fuel Adjustment Factor (FAF) within a duly filed service contract shall be construed as referencing the same surcharge as ONE Bunker Surcharge (OBS) as detailed within tariff Rule No. 102.001, whether as an exception or as a reference to this charge.

NOTE 4: OOCL calls the above Bunker surcharge the Fuel Cost Recovery Charge (T-62). The Fuel Cost Recovery Charge will not apply to shipments when Bunker Surcharge and/or Low Sulphur Fuel Surcharge and/or Low Sulphur Adjustment Charge are already applied or included in the base rate.

NOTE 5: ZIM calls the above Bunker Charge the New Bunker Factor – Far East (NBF), Rule 010-NB. The NBF is effective May 1, 2021 until further notice. Service contract cargoes subject to Carrier’s published BAF and/or EBS shall not be subject to NBF.

NOTE 6: Subject to Low Sulphur Fuel Charge (LSF or LSS).

NOTE 7: Updated on a monthly basis.

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

Sharing surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses with Caribbean and Central American nations will help protect vulnerable populations, promote U.S. diplomatic efforts, and help restart cruise activity at U.S. ports – an important industry within the American travel and tourism service sector. Those are the arguments made by FMC Commissioner Louis E. Sola in a letter sent May 18, 2021 to President Joseph Biden.

Since April 2020, Commissioner Sola has served as the Fact Finding Officer responsible for determining the economic impact of the cessation of cruise activity on our Nation’s ports and port communities. Over the past year, FMC Fact Finding No. 30 has determined that tens of thousands of American workers have lost employment, cities and port authorities have lost millions of dollars in revenue, and countless enterprises that support the cruise industry have lost business. A consistent theme in reports issued by Commissioner Sola is the economic imperative to American businesses and families of safely restarting the cruise industry.

While there has been positive news from the Biden Administration about the resumption of cruise operations, Commissioner Sola says that cruise ships must have destination ports to call. Commissioner Sola says that ports of call should be made as reasonably safe as possible and proposes that the U.S. should provide surplus vaccines to Caribbean and Central American nations, including Panama and Mexico. Commissioner Sola has published a separate White Paper detailing this proposal in greater detail.

In a related matter, Commissioner Sola issued the latest Fact Finding 30 Interim Report, Economic Impact of COVID-19 on the Cruise Industry on U.S. Territories in the Caribbean. This is the fifth regionally focused examination on this topic Commissioner Sola has published. The report details impacts to Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and neighboring ports of call in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) voted May 19, 2021, to publish and file the Charter necessary to formally establish a National Shipper Advisory Committee. The Commission will solicit applications from qualified candidates for appointment to the Committee. The National Shipper Advisory Committee will consist of 24 members, evenly divided between exporters and importers. The Committee was created as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) to “advise the Federal Maritime Commission on policies relating to the competitiveness, reliability, integrity, and fairness of the international ocean freight delivery system.” This Advisory Committee was a key recommendation of the FMC’s Fact Finding Investigation FF-28 which was finalized in August 2019.

A notice will be published in the Federal Register soliciting nominations and outlining qualifications of applicants, obligations of Committee members, and steps for how to apply for membership. FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye encourages individuals with original ideas and a desire to lead to submit applications to join this Committee.