National Industrial Transportation League Executive Director Jennifer Hedrick issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s proposed infrastructure plan:

“The National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) applauds the efforts by the White House to improve our nation’s infrastructure, which can’t come soon enough for businesses moving freight. A more efficient freight supply chain is a critical component of businesses working to grow the U.S. economy, and ensures that our nation remains competitive within the global economy.”

The National Industrial Transportation League and the Transportation Intermediaries Association have revised their model broker-shipper contract and are making it available exclusively to NITL and TIA members.

The two organizations began updating the model contract in 2017, forming a small working group consisting of members of both organizations. Many of the updates are designed to address new federal regulations affecting the movement of food products, specifically the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s final rule on the sanitary transportation of human and animal food. The rule took effect on 6 April 2017 for “larger” third-party logistics professionals (more than 500 employees) and will apply to “small businesses” as of 6 April 2018.

“Our respective organizations sought to integrate existing laws, regulations and legal interpretations and not place undue stress onto the other party,” says Jeff Tucker, CEO of Tucker Company Worldwide and chairman of NITL’s Highway Committee. “We’re pleased to provide this benefit to our members and our industry.”

Don Pisano, a member of the NITL Board of Directors and former chair of NITL’s Ocean Transportation Committee, and Karyn Booth and Nick DiMichael, League counsel, joined other representatives from a broad range of organizations earlier this week to urge the Federal Maritime Commission to restrict the ability of steamship lines and marine terminal operators to impose detention and demurrage charges due to circumstances beyond shippers’ control.

At hearings at FMC headquarters in Washington, D.C., the affected organizations, known collectively as the Coalition for Fair Port Practices, noted that unfair port charges have been levied more frequently in recent years as a result of labor strife, increasing freight volumes, the Hanjin bankruptcy, and weather emergencies.

Demurrage is assessed on cargo left at the terminal beyond allotted free time. Detention charges are levied for late return of carriers’ containers. The fees are designed to discourage the use of terminals for long-term storage and to improve equipment utilization.

In December 2016, the Coalition for Fair Port Practices filed a petition (Petition P4-16) with the FMC asking the agency to initiate a rulemaking proceeding on this matter. The FMC announced in November 2017 that it would hold hearings on the issue on January 16-17.

Former NITL President James Bartley passed away on Tuesday, December 19, 2017. NITL members and staff mourn his loss and recognize the many years of service Bartley provided to the League. His obituary may be found here.

NITL and its fellow members of the Coalition for Fair Port Practices are petitioning the Federal Maritime Commission to be allowed to testify before the FMC on what constitutes “just and reasonable rules and practices” with respect to the assessment of demurrage, detention, and per diem charges by ocean common carriers and marine terminal operators when ports are congested or otherwise inaccessible.

“The Coalition commends the Federal Maritime Commission for its decision to schedule public hearings on the Coalition’s Petition for Rulemaking concerning demurrage and detention practices of ocean carriers and marine terminals applied during periods of port congestion or other circumstances impacting the accessibility of our nation’s seaports,” the petition states. “The Coalition appreciates the opportunity to explain the concerns of importers, exporters, and drayage operators who are assessed demurrage and/or detention/per diem when cargo cannot be delivered or equipment cannot be returned due to port congestion or other circumstances that are beyond their control.”

The Coalition for Fair Port Practices filed a petition (Petition P4-16) with the FMC in December 2016 asking the agency to initiate a rulemaking proceeding on this matter. The FMC announced on November 16 that it would hold hearings on this issue on January 16-17.

NITL and its fellow members of the Rail Customer Coalition (RCC) are urging the Surface Transportation Board and key lawmakers to remain vigilant about service problems affecting CSX customers and not simply assume that the railroad is improving operations across the board.

In the five weeks since the STB held a “listening session” to hear directly from shippers about the problems they are experiencing with CSX, service has only worsened in some areas served by the railroad, according to letters sent by the RCC to the STB and key members of Congress.

“With CSX closing additional yards since the listening session, rail customers remain very concerned about the resiliency of the rail network to meet customer demand now and into the future,” stated the letter to STB members Ann Begeman and Deb Miller. “The RCC would like to request a meeting with each of you to provide an update on continuing and in some cases deteriorating CSX service conditions, and to discuss actions the Board could take that would fix the underlying problems.”

The Federal Maritime Commission will hold hearings on January 16-17 in response to a petition filed by NITL and two dozen other groups that raised issues associated with detention, demurrage, and per diem charges.

The organizations, known collectively as the Coalition for Fair Port Practices, filed a petition (Petition P4-16) with the FMC in December 2016 asking the agency to initiate a rulemaking proceeding “to clarify what constitutes `just and reasonable rules and practices’ with respect to the assessment of demurrage, detention, and per diem charges by ocean common carriers and marine terminal operators when ports are congested or otherwise inaccessible.”

Those interested in presenting testimony at the hearings must send their request to the FMC no later than Friday, December 8, 2017.

After a two-week delay caused by Hurricane Irma, a “listening session” called by the Surface Transportation Board took place Wednesday, October 11, with shippers providing example after example of CSX Railway service problems causing plant shutdowns and raising shipping costs.

NITL Chair Mary Pileggi, Executive Director Jennifer Hedrick, and General Counsel Karyn Booth attended the hearing, and Pileggi submitted comments on behalf of League members. The comments criticized CSX for failing to notify its customers of forthcoming operational changes and to coordinate those changes with its customers. The comments also noted that CSX will probably suffer little for its actions because it operates in “an oligopoly with many captive customers” rather than “a market that is robustly competitive”—a reference to the competitive switching rulemaking (EP 711) that is languishing before the STB.

CSX CEO Hunter Harrison addressed the Board and the session’s attendees, strongly defending his company’s strategy of “precision scheduled railroading” and attributing the service delays primarily to employees failing to implement the plan properly. The STB’s two commissioners, Acting Chair Ann Begeman and Vice Chair Deb Miller, asked Harrison questions during his hour-long remarks, including questions about his failure to participate in an industry work group that is collaborating on ways to help address Chicago rail traffic issues.

Read more information about the listening session here. Testimony from all session participants will be posted on the STB website in Docket EP 742.

An ambitious plan to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions at two of the busiest ports in the United States could add billions of dollars in supply chain costs and make the ports less attractive to shippers and cargo owners, according to the National Industrial Transportation League.

In a letter to the environmental directors of the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles, the League joined with roughly 70 other associations in expressing concern that a Clean Air Action Plan drafted by the ports, while “laudable and well intentioned,” will reduce the competitiveness of the ports and further erode their share of freight commerce.

“While the ports and stakeholders must continue to build upon the successes achieved so far, we
are significantly concerned with several aspects of the Draft Clean Air Action Plan Update,” the letter states. “These include the lack of information with respect to the commercial availability of specified technologies, the uncertainty of the draft plan’s cost, the absence of any analysis regarding the ports’ future competitiveness, the exclusion of certain technologies and fuels, and the lack of a cost benefit analysis on the air quality benefits that would result from this program. Ironically, these are issues which are identified within the report, but for the most part deemed unimportant.”

The action plan, announced by port officials on July 19, proposes short- and long-term strategies to further reduce air pollution from port-related sources and ultimately achieve zero emissions for trucks and terminal equipment. Although they have made great strides in reducing pollution in recent years, the ports are the largest source of smog-forming pollution in Southern California.

The Federal Maritime Commission has agreed to hold public hearings on a petition signed by NITL and several other groups that seeks to clarify when and why ocean freight lines and terminal operators can assess demurrage, detention, and per diem charges when ports are congested or otherwise inaccessible.

In December 2016, the League and 25 other trade associations—known collectively as the Coalition for Fair Port Practices—filed a petition with the FMC asking the agency to initiate a rulemaking proceeding “to clarify what constitutes `just and reasonable rules and practices’ with respect to the assessment of demurrage, detention, and per diem charges by ocean common carriers and marine terminal operators when ports are congested or otherwise inaccessible.”

Today, the FMC met in open session to receive updates on supply chain innovation teams, London International Shipping Week, and the agreement review process. The commission then went into closed session for a briefing about the many comments submitted in response to the coalition’s petition. The commission agreed that, given the wide range of port business practices disclosed by the comments, a public hearing was indicated.

“We are delighted to see the FMC’s consideration of the petition brought forth by the Coalition for Fair Port Practices, and are especially pleased to see that the agency will hold hearings to hear directly from affected stakeholders,” said NITL Executive Director Jennifer Hedrick. “NITL is joined in the coalition by over 20 associations, collectively representing hundreds of shippers and transportation providers who seek fair detention and demurrage practices at our nation’s ports. We look forward to working with the FMC and others to pursue workable resolutions to issues that have created penalties for beneficial cargo owners due to delays and disruptions outside of their control.”

Trade and shipper associations, individual importers and exporters, customs brokers, freight forwarders, logistics companies, trucking and drayage companies, ocean carriers, port authorities, marine terminal operators, and other stakeholders will be invited to testify at the hearings. Hearing details will be published as soon as arrangements are finalized.