SIMIC

ELEVEN ocean carriers have appealed Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) chief judge Erin Withered ruling that container lines violated the US Shipping Act when they insisted what chassis must be used, reports New York's Journal of Commerce.
Banded together in the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association (OCEMA), the carriers filed the appeal saying the judge erred because key facts are still in dispute.
"[Judge Wirth] went well beyond what is appropriate at the summary judgment stage and improperly determined the credibility of conflicting witness testimony and other evidence on a variety of issues," OCEMA said.
Judge Wirth ruled that while ocean carriers can dictate which chassis provider must be used on carrier haulage agreements, cargo owners and truckers have the ultimate decision on chassis usage in merchant haulage agreements.
In merchant haulage, she said, ocean carriers are responsible only for the port-to-port move; in carrier haulage, the ocean carrier has responsibility for the door-to-door transportation.
OCEMA warned that Judge Wirth's ruling setting different rules for merchant and carrier haulage could lead to chassis shortages at marine and rail terminals.
"Without the commitment of the ocean carriers, there is no practical way adequate chassis volumes will be available at marine and rail terminals in the US," the group wrote in its appeal.
It would also place an enormous burden on shippers and truckers to ensure adequate chassis are available in every market, it said.
"It will be up to shippers and motor carriers to arrange for the thousands of chassis needed to meet merchant haulage requirements," OCEMA said.