b'6American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comFMC weighs in on reasonableness(NUMBERScontinuedgaphasbeenwideningever from page 4) since.Portcongestionand PlanCormulti-scenarioport transit delays were partly of ocean carrier chassis practices planning to get us through theresponsible for the re-routing next set of challenges. of shipments away from the Its against the Shipping Act, in some circumstances, for carriersAJOTIs the shift frommajor transportation hubs of to require shippers to use specific chassis providers.WestCoast,particularlytheLos Angeles and Long Beach. SanPedroportsofLAandShippers, already reeling from LB,totheEastCoastandnotbeingabletogettheir By Peter Buxbaum, AJOT Gulf still a factor?productstomarketintime, Chris JonesThe sharefeared the worst as the ILWU InadecisionthatcameilaritiestotheonereportedLloyd filed an answer to theofcontainertrafficbegantocontractnegotiationsbegan downinFebruary,theFed- intheAJOTinFebruary,complaint, denying a key fac- shiftawayfromWestCoastlastsummer.Whilethere eralMaritimeCommissioninwhichanNVOCC,M.E.tual allegation when it stated,portsinfavoroftheirEastwere no work stoppages and ruledthattheShippingActDey, brought an action beforeIt was the responsibility ofandGulfCoastcounterparts(NUMBERScontinued on prohibits ocean carriers fromthe FMC last year against theM.E.Deyand/or[itsmotorfrom about May last year. Thepage 13)designating an exclusive chas- oceancarrierHapag-Lloydcarrier] New Age to provide sis provider for its containers,forunreasonabledemurragechassisforthecontainersat when the carrier is not respon- and detention fees. The cruxissue. The M.E. Dey case is sibleformovingthecon- of the allegations in that casepending before the FMC and tainer off terminal. In a casewasthatHapagrefusedtois expected to be decided in broughtbytheIntermodalallowtheNVOCCstruckerJuly 2024.MotorCarriersConferenceto provide its own chassis toOnethingthattiesthe oftheAmericanTruckingmove the containers off ter- twocasestogetheristhat Associations (IMCC) againstminal, following a rail moveinIMCC,theFMCrepeat-theOceanCarrierEquip- fromCharlestontoNash- edlyreferredtoitsDemur-mentManagementAssocia- ville, resulting in late chargesrageandDetentionRule, tion,ConsolidatedChassisimposedbytherailcarrier,(PRACTICEScontinued Management,and11ship- CSX. On March 27, Hapag- on page 8)ping lines (the respondents), theFMCruledthatsucha practice is unreasonable and therefore unlawful. thecase LOSE.Theclaimsin wereseveralandthefacts complex, but they boil down to this: the respondent carriers required shippers and truckers to use the carriers designated chassis providers even when it was the cargo owners respon- Wsibility to deliver the cargo toAIT.itsultimatedestination.That practice, the FMC concluded, is unreasonable.Whenanoceancarrier provides door-to-door service, thecarrierisresponsiblefor transportation between the port andtheultimatedestination, includingprovidingthechas-sis.Forport-to-portservice, thecustomerisresponsible forarrangingtransportation between the port and the des-tination,includingpayingfor the chassis. The ocean carrier is naturally responsible for chas-sis in the first case, known as carrier haulage, or CH, while the shipper or motor carrier is responsible for chassis used in the alternative, merchant haul-age, or MH.It makes sense that in the case of CH, ocean carriers can designate chassis providersand the FMC ruled that such a practice is not unreasonable. But in the case of MH, where the shipper is responsible for deliveryofthecargo,des-ignatinganexclusivechas-sisprovider,presumablyon therationalethatthecarrier ownsthebox,isunreason-able and therefore violates the Shipping Act. The ocean car-riersbehaviorwasaddition-ally tainted in the IMCC case because they were using MH chassisvolumestonegotiate lowerCHchassisratesfor themselveswithintermodalCOMING JULY 2023equipmentproviders(IEPs) but were not passing along the savings to their customers inThings are moving fast at the Port of Savannah. the case of MH. Were expanding Berth 1 to accommodate more big ships. s iMilariTies Toe arlierC ase That means you trim the wait. Check it out. gaports.com/losewait/This case bears some sim-'