The Federal Maritime Commission will ask the public to comment on whether supply chain congestion is severe enough to order carriers and container terminals to share their cargo availability data directly with shippers, railroads and drayage truckers.
The FMC noted in its information request that the container shipping sector has tried various strategies to reduce chronic bottlenecks over the past two years, including diverting vessel services from the most congested ports.
“This shift, however, has often resulted in increased congestion at previously non- or less-congested U.S. port areas or regions,” the FMC stated in its comment request. “Total U.S. port congestion, measured by the number of containers on ships waiting to berth, average ship waiting time at key U.S. ports and container dwell time have all decreased in recent months. Relevant metrics, however, remain higher than pre-pandemic levels.”
The public will have 30 days following its publishing in the federal register to respond to the proposal. The FMC is seeking detailed comments, with supporting data, on the following questions:
According to the OSRA, information sharing required under an FMC-issued emergency order would be aimed at improving the efficient transportation, loading and unloading of cargo to or from any inland destination or point of origin, any vessel or any point on a wharf or terminal.
The law also states that such an order “must be tailored in terms of duration and geographic scope; consider the likely burdens on common carriers and marine terminal operators; and consider the likely benefits on congestion relating to the purposes of the Shipping Act.”
