FMC releases report on U.S. port congestion

The Federal Maritime Commission’s report was based on feedback from industry leaders at four public forums held around the country to gauge the impacts of port congestion and examine possible solutions going forward.    The Federal Maritime Commission on Tuesday released a report on U.S. port congestion based on findings from four regional forums the commission held last fall as congestion crises swept through key containerized gateways on both coasts.
   The problem was particularly acute at West Coast ports, where operational issues were compounded by fractious longshore labor negotiations. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and their employers, represented by the Pacific Maritime Association, agreed to a tentative labor contract in February that was officially ratified in May.
   The report, “U.S. Container Port Congestion & Related International Supply Chain Issues: Causes, Consequences & Challenges,” is segmented into six sections, to reflect what the FMC characterized as the six most prevalent discussion areas at the forums.
   The sections touch on capital investment in ports, chassis availability, vessel and terminal operations, drayage, extended port hours and congestion pricing, and collaboration. Each section has an extensive summary of viewpoints gathered from the four forums, held in Los Angeles, Baltimore, Charleston and New Orleans.
   Other areas of the report examine the subsequent impacts of these problems and potential solutions. One idea mooted in the report is the creation of an industry-led advisory council to the FMC.
   This national level federal advisory committee – such as National Council on Intermodal Supply Chain Efficiency – would help facilitate discussion and resolution of issues of national importance that are affecting or promise to affect the U.S. intermodal system, the report said.
   “The Commission is exploring whether it should establish such an Advisory Committee,” the report said. “The council, if formed, would be led by industry executives who would work with the Commission and its staff to develop the council’s activities and initiatives.”
   However the FMC also notes that there already exist a Department of Commerce Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness and a Department of Transportation National Freight Advisory Committee.
   The report also acknowledges that the causes of port congestion are neither sudden nor out of the control of industry stakeholders.
   “One view of the U.S. container ports congestion crisis is that it has resulted from events that have developed or emerged over a considerable period of time and from within the system itself, rather than being the result of external shocks, such as unanticipated surges in container volumes or management-labor issues,” the FMC said in the report. “According to this view, methods and practices developed and applied perhaps decades ago in quite different circumstances have morphed into today’s problems.”