The Federal Maritime Commission opened an investigation today to determine if the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association (OCEMA) and its members are complying with a decision issued earlier this year establishing the right of shipper and trucker choice in chassis provisioning for merchant haulage in four key U.S. markets.

The Commission initiated the non-adjudicatory investigation in response to reports that chassis providers in Los Angeles/Long Beach, Chicago, Memphis, and Savannah are not complying with a cease-and-desist order issued by the Commission on February 13, 2024, in Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference, American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association Inc, et. al (Docket No. 20-14).

The investigation will be conducted by the Commission’s Bureau of Enforcement, Investigations, and Compliance (BEIC) and will examine whether OCEMA and its members have altered their policies and practices as required by the cease-and-desist order. Non-adjudicatory investigations provide BEIC with subpoena powers as a discovery tool. Evidence of wrongdoing uncovered by BEIC may be used by the Commission to seek an injunction in federal district court. BEIC can also use any evidence of wrongdoing to initiate its own enforcement action and seek civil penalties for non-compliance with a Commission order.

Individuals with information beneficial to BEIC’s investigation, or with information of any wrongdoing by a regulated entity, are encouraged to come forward and share that information with the Commission. Please send any information to [email protected] or call 202-523-5783.

Retaliation against a party for making a complaint at the Commission is a separate offense of the law that carries significant penalties. The Commission will pursue any allegation of retaliatory conduct and hold offending parties fully accountable.