23.05.19NSAC Asks to Have Railway Terminal Storing Fees Supervised by OSRA

A public hearing session was recently held on a proposal made by the National Shipper Advisory Committee (NSAC). The NSAC, which consists of 24 major shippers, is asking the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to extend the interpretation of demurrages, include in demurrages fees for having international cargo moved with B/Ls stored at railway terminals and make shipping companies charges such fees. The National Industrial Transportation League (NITL), one of the largest shipper organizations in the U.S., indicated that it will support the proposal.

The FMC is now in the process of formulating rules for detention and demurrage fees in the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA2022). If the NSAC proposal is adopted, fees for having international cargo moved in intermodal services in accordance with B/Ls stored at railway terminals would be placed under the supervision of the FMC and required by the OSRA2022.

Earlier this month, more than 70 U.S. shipper and trade organizations, including the NTIL, National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) and the National Retail Federation (NRF), submitted a similar request to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.