FMC 'bias toward carriers' a 'slap in the face' for SMEs pursuing a claim
Shippers and forwarders claim the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) litigation process is ‘unfairly tilted ...
WTC: RIDE THE WAVEFDX: TOP EXEC OUTPEP: TOP PERFORMER KO: STEADY YIELD AND KEY APPOINTMENTAAPL: SUPPLIER IPOCHRW: SLIGHTLY DOWNBEAT BUT UPSIDE REMAINSDHL: TOP PRIORITIESDHL: SPECULATIVE OCEAN TRADEDHL: CFO REMARKSPLD: BEATING ESTIMATESPLD: TRADING UPDATEBA: TRUMP TRADE
WTC: RIDE THE WAVEFDX: TOP EXEC OUTPEP: TOP PERFORMER KO: STEADY YIELD AND KEY APPOINTMENTAAPL: SUPPLIER IPOCHRW: SLIGHTLY DOWNBEAT BUT UPSIDE REMAINSDHL: TOP PRIORITIESDHL: SPECULATIVE OCEAN TRADEDHL: CFO REMARKSPLD: BEATING ESTIMATESPLD: TRADING UPDATEBA: TRUMP TRADE
The Surface Transportation Board (STB), the US regulatory body that covers rail and road transport, is set to follow its maritime equivalent, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), in investigating the imposition of demurrage fees on shippers by carriers, according to Material Handling & Logistics. As with shipping lines, intermodal operators stand accused of abusing the demurrage system to increase profits and which this article claims is the result of rail companies introducing Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) strategies which have improved carriers’ profitability, but led to reduced frequency of services for shippers: “A side of the PSR revolution has involved generating new and substantial revenues by hiking demurrage and other fees, while redesigning billing practices to make it nearly impossible for shippers to avoid the demurrage fees. As a result, these fees have become a prime source of income for the railroads to boost their bottom lines—in spite of the fact that they were originally justified by the railroads as incentives for encouraging the prompt return of their equipment.”
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