The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has issued a formal Notice of Inquiry under FMC Docket No. 17-04 to solicit information and comments in an effort to identify existing FMC regulations that are outdated, unnecessary, ineffective, eliminate jobs or inhibit job creation, impose costs that exceed benefits, or otherwise interfere with regulatory reform initiatives and policies. This action is taken to comply with Executive Order 13777, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda,” issued by President Trump earlier this year, which requires all U.S. federal agencies to initiate regulatory reform initiatives and imposes reporting requirements with tight deadlines. Docket 17-04 is now available on the Commission’s website and was published in the Federal Register to solicit the public’s assistance in identifying existing FMC regulations that should be repealed, replaced, or modified.

In March 2017, the FMC Managing Director, Karen V. Gregory, was designated as its Regulatory Reform Officer. Ms. Gregory has organized a Regulatory Reform Task Force that will work to identify burdensome, unnecessary, and outdated directives and recommend how they should be remedied. "Relief from regulatory requirements that have outlived their usefulness is one of the easiest contributions the Federal Maritime Commission can make to increased efficiencies and creating economic benefits," said Acting FMC Chairman Khouri. "The positive response from what the Commission ordered recently in terms of creating more realistic filing requirements for service contract amendments demonstrates the benefits that can be achieved from simply asking ‘is there a better way to do this?’"

In prepared comments on Docket 17-04, Acting FMC Chairman Michal Khouri said he is "very pleased with the progress Ms. Gregory is making toward the Commission’s goal of easing regulatory compliance costs and requirements for industry stakeholders. We look forward to hearing from any and all parties who want their views to be known. If there are Commission regulations that are burdensome, ineffective, unreasonably costly, or antiquated, every effort should be made to modify or repeal them so that shippers and consumers benefit from expanded services, increased choices, and lower costs.” Interested parties may provide comments to the FMC Office of the Secretary in response to the Notice of Inquiry on or before July 5, 2017. Responses will be reviewed to help the Commission determine its next steps.

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Carrier members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA), FMC Agreement No. 011223, serving the East Asia/USA trade lanes (U.S. Imports) have determined that it is impractical to continue publishing a single TSA recommended guideline formula due to “rapidly changing market conditions, sailing characteristics and cost structures.” The TSA websites advise that recommendations for bunker, low-sulfur, and inland fuel surcharges will no longer be posted.

According to an announcement by the TSA Carriers “effective July 1, 2017, TSA lines will use the weekly average fuel prices as a resource, but may also factor in their own distinct costs and pricing objectives in developing their bunker charge policies which, in any event, have always been subject to individual adaptation. Customers are advised to consult their carriers for further information.” Here is a table of several carriers that have posted BAF amounts, both TSA members and non-members:

Several TSA carrier members have filed General Rate Increases (GRIs) in their respective FMC tariffs, effective July 1, 2017, including APL, CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd, Hyundai, Maersk, OOCL, and Yang Ming. K Line and NYK are no longer TSA carrier members, but filed similar GRIs in their respective FMC tariffs. See table below for GRI amounts per 40ft container; GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. For some carriers, this July GRI will be the eighth GRI of 2017 for the East Asia/USA trade lane.

The TSA Carrier group web site at www.tsacarriers.org provides additional information; however, each carrier maintains its own tariffs and controls its own pricing.

The TSA's 10 member carriers are: American President Lines, CMA CGM, COSCO Container Lines, Evergreen Marine, Hapag-Lloyd AG, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping, OOCL, and Yang Ming Marine.

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Carrier members of the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement Westbound (TSA), FMC Agreement No. 011223, whose member carriers serve the USA/East Asia trade lanes (U.S. Exports), have adjusted their fuel surcharges for the July to September 2017 quarter. Details are as follows:

The TSA Westbound Carrier group web site at www.tsa-westbound.org provides additional information; however, each carrier maintains its own tariffs and controls its own pricing.

The TSA's 10 member carriers are: American President Lines, CMA CGM, COSCO Container Lines, Evergreen Marine, Hapag-Lloyd AG, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping, OOCL, and Yang Ming Marine.

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