Commentary: AgTC applauds FMC’s push of Shipping Act mandates

The Agriculture Transportation Coalition and a broad array of exporters, importers, truckers, forwarders — essentially the entire American shipping public — is encouraged and grateful to the Federal Maritime Commission leaders for their initiatives this past week. 

For several years, we have petitioned the FMC to intervene to help U.S. ag exporters (and all shippers) survive debilitating and unfair detention and demurrage, punitive “free time” policies (imposed on smaller shippers and exporters), canceled and declined export bookings, cargo continually rolled, lack of containers, limited access to chassis, inaccurate ERDs or none at all — the list goes on.

The Shipping Act mandates “reasonable” practices in ocean shipping. Last year the FMC’s rule provided ocean carriers and marine terminals with guidelines for reasonable demurrage and detention practices. U.S. exporters and importers were hopeful, but we continued to suffer, as not one of the recommended reasonable practices was implemented by the carriers and terminals.

The carriers and terminals were ill-advised to ignore the commission’s rule. Now the commissioners are stepping forward, appearing united and determined to enforce compliance with the guidelines to achieve the purpose of the act “to promote the growth and development of U.S. exports through competitive and efficient ocean transportation.”