Several carriers serving the USA/East Asia trade lanes (U.S. Exports) have adjusted their fuel surcharges for the April to June 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 has applied the above Bunker Surcharge (BUC) Rule No. 10-02A since October 1, 2020.

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. The above rates have been in effect since Jan 1, 2021.

NOTE 4: OOCL calls the above Bunker surcharge the Fuel Cost Recovery Charge (T-62). The Fuel Cost Recovery Charge above is effective March 1, 2021 until further notice. 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 March 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 March 15, 2021, including CMA CGM, 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 March 15th GRIs will be the sixth GRI of 2021 for the East Asia/USA trade lane.

Some carriers updated their tariffs to include new General Rate Increases (GRIs) effective April 1, 2021, including CMA CGM, 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 April 1st GRIs will be the seventh GRI of 2021 for the East Asia/USA trade lane.

Several carriers serving the East Asia/USA trade lanes (U.S. Imports) have adjusted fuel surcharges effective April 1 through June 30, 2021. Details are as follows. 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. The above amounts are effective March 1, 2021 until further notice.

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. The above rates have been in effect since Jan 1, 2021.

NOTE 4: OOCL calls the above Bunker surcharge the Fuel Cost Recovery Charge (T-62). The Fuel Cost Recovery Charge above is effective March 1, 2021 until further notice. 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 March 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.

The Federal Maritime Commission has announced it will issue information demand orders to ocean carriers and marine terminal operators (MTOs) to determine if legal obligations related to detention and demurrage practices are being met.

The orders will be issued under the authority granted to Commissioner Rebecca Dye as the Fact Finding Officer for the Commission’s Fact Finding 29, “International Ocean Transportation Supply Chain Engagement.” Targets of the orders will be ocean carriers operating in an alliance agreement and calling the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach, or the Port of New York & New Jersey. Marine terminal operators at those ports will also be subject to information demands. The demand orders will also require ocean carriers and MTOs to provide information on their policies and practices related to container returns and container availability for exporters.

Failure of ocean carriers and MTOs to operate in a way consistent with the FMC’s Interpretive Rule on Detention and Demurrage that became effective on May 18, 2020 might constitute a violation of the Shipping Act, 46 USC 41102(c), which prohibits unjust and unreasonable practices and regulations related to, or connected with, receiving, handling, storing, or delivering property. Information received as a result of these demand orders may be used as a basis for hearings, Commission enforcement action or further rulemaking.

In a statement issued February 18, 2021, FMC Commissioner Carl Bentzel gave his strong support for the decision to move forward with the information demand orders. He noted “many of the challenges to our supply chain have been unforeseeable. In this time of operational duress, it is important that ocean carriers, marine terminal operators, and shippers honor their responsibilities in the legal obligations related to detention and demurrage. Detention and demurrage are intended to provide an incentive for the pickup of cargo, and the redelivery of equipment to ensure efficient operation, not to function as a separate revenue stream when operations break down.”

Commissioner Bentzel expressed his concern about issues surrounding the implementation of detention and demurrage by ocean carriers and noted the possibility “that shipping lines are intentionally avoiding providing export of U.S. goods and manufactures in the rush to get empty cargo containers to Asia to provide carriage of imports.” In December 2020, Commissioner Bentzel and Commissioner Daniel Maffei wrote a joint letter to World Shipping Council President and CEO John Butler expressing their concern about reports that some ocean carriers have recently refused to carry U.S. exports. The Commissioners wrote that U.S. exporters should not bear the entire burden of volume fluctuations and surges and emphasized “it is imperative that we strive for a balanced trade to keep our supply chain fully effective and efficient while maintaining vital export opportunities for the U.S. agriculture and manufacturing bases.”