Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel says that audits have already led to investigations at the FMC, but that the agency is underpowered, with about 115 employees and just six investigators. He said there have been billions of dollars worth of detention and demurrage charges, and that the FMC will be issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking to create further guidance about proper detention and demurrage charges.

Panelists at a Washington International Trade Association conference Feb. 2 said they're not sure when the supply chain crisis will ease, noting the U.S. brought a record number of containers into the country last year. Jonathan Gold, the National Retail Federation's vice president for supply chains, said he expects the amount to be even higher in 2022.

The Port of Oakland is opening a 25-acre off-terminal container yard that will move containers off chassis so they can be picked up for export. The new container yard is aimed at helping agricultural exporters. Oakland is the gateway for refrigerated proteins and much of California's exports, and before the import surge, its volume was half exports and half imports, the port said in a Jan. 3 news release.

There has been “major improvement” in recent weeks to ease congestion across the Port of Los Angeles, “but there’s still so much work to do,” Executive Director Gene Seroka told a Washington Post webinar Dec. 9. The profound shortage of truckers and warehouse labor in Southern California remains a severe problem that won’t ease anytime soon, he said.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has rejected a proposal from the Pacific Maritime Association to extend its current labor contract, according to a Nov. 23 report from Bloomberg. That sets up potentially contentious negotiations between the labor union, which represents West Coast dockworkers, and terminal operators and carriers on the West Coast, amid existing supply chain challenges. The current contract, which had already been extended one year, expires mid-2022.

The White House, in a blog post that noted some wins for easing port congestion, said Congress should provide the Federal Maritime Commission with "an updated toolbox to protect exporters, importers, and consumers from unfair practices." It said that the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, a bipartisan bill introduced in the House in August (see 2108100011), "includes good first steps towards the type of longer-term reform to shipping laws that would strengthen America’s global competitiveness."

A new dwelling fee on containers at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports should not be passed on to importers, said Noel Hacegaba, chief operating officer of the Port of Long Beach. Hacegaba was speaking to the U.S. Fashion Industry Association virtual conference, during a Nov. 10 panel on the supply chain.

The Biden administration will allow increased flexibility for existing port grants and support new pop-up container yards for the Port of Savannah as part of a new Biden-Harris Action Plan for America’s Ports and Waterways announced in a fact sheet Nov. 9. The plan “will mobilize federal agencies and lay the foundation for successful implementation of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal,” which includes $17 billion in funding to improve supply chain infrastructure, the White House said.

President Joe Biden announced Oct. 13 that after administration officials negotiated for weeks, they convinced the Port of Los Angeles to operate 24/7, convinced the labor unions to staff those 60 extra hours, and got commitments from major shippers like Walmart, Samsung, FedEx and UPS to use the time, too.

Dwell time for rail cargo at the Port of Los Angeles has dropped from its peak of 13 days down to about four days, the port said Oct. 6. Supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have caused port congestion and delays for more than a year, especially near Los Angeles, where dozens of anchored ships face delays (see 2109200048 and 2102020050).