A maritime law judge has ruled that ocean carriers violate the Shipping Act when they limit container chassis choices for intermodal truckers.
The Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference insists the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has jurisdiction to ensure that ocean container chassis provisioning is conducted fairly.
The Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association says the Federal Maritime Commission’s jurisdiction does not apply to a domestic transport dispute with container-hauling truckers.
The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission’s Office of Administrative Law Judges is expected to announce an initial decision in this multibillion-dollar complaint against the ocean carriers by August 2021.
The American Trucking Associations’ Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference seeks to put an end to alleged price manipulation of container chassis usage between ocean carriers and draymen.
Intermodal Motor Carrier Conference said the Ocean Carrier Equipment Association can avoid regulatory or legal action by reaching a “mutually beneficial” resolution to the chassis lease rate dispute.
Leasing companies say a neutral chassis pool lacks incentive to invest the tens of millions of dollars each year to maintain viable chassis equipment.
ATA intermodal group alleges $1.8 billion in haulage overcharges
“With ongoing challenges posed by the coronavirus, there is real concern about these fees being assessed when there are equipment issues beyond the control of the shipper or motor carrier,” 67 trade associations told the Federal Maritime Commission.
