U.S. FMC SURVEYS INDUSTRY ON OSRA
The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission is seeking the views of ocean carriers, shippers, ocean transportation intermediaries and other interested parties on the impact of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act and its special features, such as confidential service contracting and discussion agreements.
Responses, which are due back at the FMC by March 12, will be used to assist the agency's analysis and evaluation of OSRA during its first two years in force. The comments will also be used in the FMC's ongoing OSRA Impact Study, which is scheduled to be released this summer.
The questions contained in the survey will be available on the FMC’s Web site at http://www.fmc.gov in a downloadable text file. The survey can also be obtained by calling FMC Secretary Bryant VanBrakle at (202) 523-5725 or by e-mail at secretary@fmc.gov.
Topics of FMC’s questions include whether parties have made expanded use of service contracts under OSRA, whether negotiations have changed, whether the types of service contracts have changed, whether confidential contracts have had a change on rates and terms, and whether contracts have remained the same or have become less or more satisfactory under OSRA.
The FMC also wants to know what effects confidential contracts are having on identifying the range of shipping rates and negotiating specific commodity measures in contracts under OSRA.
Survey respondents are also asked to estimate the percentage of service contracts that include confidentiality clauses or those covered by a pre-negotiation confidentiality agreement.
Respondents are asked to reveal if rate or surcharges activities of discussion agreements generated problems or benefits. Also ocean carriers are asked whether discussion agreements, global alliances and space charter agreements led to increased efficiency of carriers’ assets.
The FMC is also seeking views on liner shipping consolidations via mergers or operational alliances, and whether such activities have affected prices and services.
The FMC asked shippers associations and non-vessel-operating common carriers whether their businesses have grown, declined or remained largely unchanged under OSRA.
Liner carriers are asked to list the percentage of total cargo carried in the last calendar year for NVOCCs.
The FMC will also study the impact OSRA has had on the port trucking industry, and the continuing importance of tariffs.
A final general question asks parties to grade the net impact of OSRA as either “very negative,” “somewhat negative,” “neutral,” “somewhat positive” or “very positive.”
For additional information contact FMC’s deputy executive director Florence Carr at (202) 523-5800 or e-mail, florence@fmc.gov.