On November 16, a coalition of truckers, shippers, and customs brokers asked the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to consider immediately suspending detention and demurrage charges at the ports of Los Angeles-Long Beach and New York-New Jersey until congestion at the gateways disperses.
A record spike in imports over the past four months has created the congestion, leading to a shortage of available appointments for truckers to pick up imports or return empty containers from marine terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach and New York-New Jersey.
In response, the coalition asked FMC to temporarily suspend demurrage charges for storing containers at marine terminals beyond the allotted free time.
The coalition also requested a temporary ban on detention charges for returning equipment late. In the long term, the coalition is asking FMC to use the interpretive rule on detention and demurrage as a template for rulemaking.
Information provided by USDA Grain Transportation Report
