Congestion Inland and at Ports Driving Costs, Delays, Panelists Say

Customs brokers in Washington to lobby for the Customs Business Fairness Act renewal should also talk about the importance of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America transportation committee members told the annual government affairs conference attendees, as a way to fight excessive detention and demurrage fees.

The bill, introduced in August (see 2108100011), would require carriers to certify that every detention or demurrage charge complies with the Federal Maritime Commission's rule on detention and demurrage fees. It also aims to give exporters more access to return trips to Asia.

Rich Roche, a Mohawk Global Logistics vice president, said during the panel that there are more than 70 ships anchored outside the Los Angeles port, and another 30 inside the port being unloaded. He said the gridlock in ports, in rail yards, in trucking and warehouses is going to take a year to clear.

When containers cannot leave the port, either because there's not a trucker to move them or because of a government hold, customers are being hit with detention and demurrage fees, the panelists said. Roche said that Mohawk paid $1.25 million in detention and demurrage fees in 2019, and through June of this year, has already paid $3 million. "We’re fighting hard to not have to pay a lot of them," he said.

He said that OSRA of 2021 needs to pass so that the Federal Maritime Commission has more power as it regulates ocean shippers.

Donna Mullins, the NCBFAA airfreight subcommittee chair, told the audience that even as customers shift to air cargo to try to speed up shipments, they're running into congestion. She said you'd expect air freight to be available eight to 12 hours after the plane lands, but it's taking eight to 12 days sometimes to get a pallet on a truck. That's a result of labor shortages in trucking, but she said that the $25 billion dedicated to airports under the bipartisan infrastructure bill should be put to use to help cargo move faster, too.

Melzie Wilson, a vice president at Dunavant Transportation Group, said, "We know what’s broken, we know what we need -- we need to make ourselves heard."