Ocean carriers have been imposing more and larger such fees for boxes that have been sitting for longer periods, sometimes weeks at a time, in logjams that have snarled supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported. U.S. lawmakers and regulators are taking a hard look at the charges and other shipping practices that critics say have sharply raised costs for American importers and hamstrung the ability of exporters to reach overseas markets. New measures in Congress and actions by the U.S. maritime regulator, the Federal Maritime Commission, target a container shipping sector dominated by foreign-based carriers that made profits last year estimated by London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants Ltd. at about $150 billion. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, and John Thune, a Republican, introduced legislation Thursday to change the 24-year-old Ocean Shipping Reform Act. The measure would draw new restrictions around how carriers may coordinate operations in alliances and would prohibit shipping lines from “unreasonably” declining exports. It would also limit the ability of carriers to impose added fees on container handling.
