National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) President and CEO Eric R. Byer issued the following statement tonight regarding President Biden’s inaugural State of the Union addressing anticompetitive practices by ocean shipping companies.

“Tonight, President Biden took an important step in acknowledging the prolonged disruptions facing our supply chain and anticompetitive practices by ocean shippers. It’s past time for the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to hold ocean carriers accountable for their anticompetitive behavior displayed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

NACD has long advocated for legislation, such as the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, that will give the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) the tools it needs to ensure industry-wide compliance with federal law while establishing a streamlined process for addressing demurrage and detention and other complaints from shippers.

Making sure ocean carriers cannot take advantage of U.S. businesses and consumers needs to be a top priority of this administration. Alongside the reforms introduced in the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, these actions can help end this crisis and make us more resilient for the next one.”