Trucking news and briefs for Friday, Aug. 21, 2020:
ATA sues foreign-owned ocean carriers over container chassis requirements at ports
The American Trucking Associations has filed a complaint with the Federal Maritime Commission against a number of foreign-owned ocean shipping lines, alleging that they violated the Shipping Act by requiring carriers to use specific default chassis providers and denying motor carriers the right to select the chassis provider for merchant haulage movements.
ATA’s Intermodal Motor Carrier Conference (IMCC) says “unjust and unreasonable conduct” resulted in trucking companies and their customers for intermodal chassis at ports being overcharged by as much as $1.8 billion over the last three years.
“For more than a decade, these foreign-owned companies have worked together to take advantage of hard-working American trucking companies,” said Bill Sullivan, ATA’s executive vice president for advocacy. “By denying truckers choice of equipment providers at port and inland locations, these unscrupulous companies have been forcing American truckers and American consumers to subsidize their costs to the tune of nearly $1.8 billion—over the last three years alone. This must end, and after several attempts to come to a mutually beneficial resolution, we are now asking the FMC to resolve it.”
IMCC filed the suit Aug. 17, alleging that the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association (OCEMA) and 11 ocean carriers “have denied trucking companies choice when leasing this essential equipment, forcing unjust and unreasonable prices upon trucking companies.” Ocean carriers named in the lawsuit include: Consolidated Chassis Management; Cosco Shipping Lines; Evergreen Line Joint Service Agreement, FMC No. 911982; Hapag-Lloyd AG; HMM Co.; Maersk A/S; MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A.; Ocean Network Express; Wan Hai Lines; Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp.; and Zim Integrated Shipping Services.
IMCC sent a Cease and Desist letter to OCEMA in May, but the issues raised were not addressed, ATA says.
“By denying motor carriers their choice of chassis provider to haul goods in and out of ports, OCEMA’s overseas members have held U.S. motor carriers hostage and forced them to subsidize the shipping lines,” said Randy Guillot, ATA Chairman and president of Triple G Express and Southeastern Motor Freight. “So far OCEMA and its members have rejected all of our attempts to reach a fair and equitable arrangement, but we believe they’ll have less success ignoring the FMC.”
