Ag Exporters Ask DOT to Help With Unfair Carrier Practices

Nearly 300 agriculture groups and companies urged the Department of Transportation to intervene as carriers continue to decline shipments of agricultural exports. The agency should “utilize all existing authorities” and help the Federal Maritime Commission “in expediting its enforcement options” to deal with the carriers, the groups said, which are sending empty containers back overseas rather than filling them with exports because the carriers can charge higher rates for imports (see 2103050014).

“[W[e urge the Department of Transportation to consider its existing authorities to determine how it can assist with the transportation needs of the U.S. exporters and the farmers and ranchers they serve in overcoming the current challenges in shipping goods and products,” the groups said in the April 27 letter. A DOT spokesperson said the agency hasn't yet received the letter but plans to respond to the groups directly.

The groups and companies voiced similar complaints to the FMC, which is investigating carrier practices as part of a broader probe into port issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (see 2103250034). Carriers are “delivering massive volumes of imported shipments” to the U.S. and then “electing to leave without refilling empty containers with American goods and products,” the letter said. The groups added that carriers aren’t providing “accurate notice to our exporters of arrival/departure and cargo loading times” and imposing “draconian financial penalties” for missing those loading windows.

Despite FMC action, including adopting a final rule last year that gave industry guidance on how it assesses the “reasonableness” of detention and demurrage charges (see 2004290037, the rule is being ignored, industry groups said (see 2011200024). “We need action now; not additional studies,” the groups said. More than 100 lawmakers urged the FMC in March to penalize carriers that decline to carry U.S. exports (see 2103100027).