Insights - March/April 2017 - 35

INTERNATIONAL INTERMODAL NEWS
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agreement approved by the FMC in place
between the neighboring ports of Seattle
and Tacoma, Washington.
"The U.S. East Coast continues to see
larger vessels and cargo exchanges since
the opening of the expanded Panama
Canal last year," Reinhart and GPA
Executive Director Griff Lynch said in a
joint statement. "The East Coast Gateway
Terminal Agreement is an innovative
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effective."
Their plan covers joint marketing,
sharing best practices for training,
cargo handling, truck turn times and
infrastructure development. Rates for
terminal use are not included in the
proposal.

FMC Moves to Ease
Regulatory Burden
The Federal Maritime Commission
issued new rules for ocean freight service
agreements that are intended to ease
regulatory burdens, while also receiving
testimony on a controversial proposal
to change detention and demurrage
policies.
The FMC's early March vote was
meant to make the agency's rules
reflect today's business environment,
a statement said. "The Commission
examined regulatory requirements for
service contracts and NVOCC Service
Arrangements," said Acting Chairman
Michael Khouri. "Today's action is
consistent with recent executive orders
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unnecessary and costly regulations."
The agency's statement said
the moves that have been under
consideration for 13 months resulted
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of service contracts and service
arrangements since they were put in
place.
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contract amendments within 30 days
of the contract effective date. Service
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after their effective date. The time for
correcting technical data transmission
errors was increased from two to 30
days and the service contract correction

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days from 45.
FMC also received more than 100
comments on the Coalition for Fair
Port Practices' bid for an FMC order
to limit detention and demurrage fees
in circumstances such as inclement
weather, labor strife, bankruptcy or
other disruption of normal commercial
conditions. The coalition of shippers,
motor carriers and logistics companies
say those disruptions have increased their
costs, sometimes by millions of dollars,
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to return equipment within allowable free
time.
The petition is being reviewed as
stress on marine terminals rose in recent
years due to increased cargo and port
calls by larger ships. The agency can
either accept or reject the petition in
its entirety or in part or request more
information. There is no timetable for any
of those actions.

Some Protest Fee Changes
The U.S. Maritime Alliance, which
negotiates East and Gulf Coast labor
agreements, urged denial, blasting the
proposal as "a regressive approach to a
complex commercial issue."
The National Association of
Waterfront Employers, which includes
terminal operators, said the Coalition's
bid "would substitute a blanket policy
judgment by the Commission, without
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The West Coast Marine Terminal
Operating Agreement said "such
emotionally charged and factually
baseless allegations distort and
mischaracterize the true nature and
impact of port competition."
On the other hand, the Harbor
Trucking Association said the proposal
would produce "more reasonable
demurrage and detention practices
for cargo moving through our nation's
seaports."

March/April 2017 | Intermodal Insights

35
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Insights - March/April 2017
