Here’s What We Know
Congress has been mulling over bills introduced by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrasture to protect supply chains from disruption. The House of Representatives looked over 12 pieces of legislation and five additional measures this year. But one bill supply chain management was looking for–didn’t make the cut. Simply put, the supply chain issue is far from over.
There has been no restitution for cargo owners that paid additional fees during COVID-19 that were imposed by the carriers. There has been a proposal to extend the demurrage rule under the Ocean Shipping Reform Act to cover land storage of containers. However, some argue that carriers could set their demurrage charges without a regulatory body at any price.
American Correspondent Ian Putzger explains, “What is not included, after calls from beneficial cargo owners, is an extension of the FMC’s powers. BCOs want the FMC to be authorized to deal with storage fees for intermodal shipments beyond ports. Specifically, this targets demurrage charges billed by rail carriers on intermodal shipments. There is no authority they can approach to challenge these fees and cannot go through federal rail regulators due to an intermodal exemption.” So, companies that import and export suffer for the first time in 30 years or more.
Future Supply Chain Legislation
Some are calling for similar regulatory developments for air cargo. The problem is: no one could foresee the massive supply chain issues until it was too late. Now, everyone is rushing to Congress to support their business, whether you ship on land, sea, or air, because shipping ports and cargo terminals have changed policies in the U.S. that hurt cargo owners. For instance, storage time used to run from Monday to Friday; now, the time clock runs from Monday to Sunday.
While the bills brought before Congress are promising, legislation may pose challenges and limitations. For example, implementing new laws and regulations can be time-consuming and require significant resources. Additionally, strict rules can sometimes stifle innovation and flexibility within the supply chain, hindering the ability to adapt to changing market dynamics. No matter the opinion, the supply chain needs legislation and bills to protect import and export businesses in the U.S.
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