Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero, a former Long Beach port commissioner, said he’s not convinced that carriers’ citing of “labor unrest” is specific enough to justify hefty congestion surcharges that most trans-Pacific carriers filed months ago and activated Monday.
The FMC late Monday posted a notice on its website advising that the surcharges “must be clear and definite as to the implementation and termination of the surcharge based upon specific criteria related to ‘labor unrest.’”
Cordero said the current surcharges appear to be based on carriers’ “observations or findings that there is labor unrest or disruption or slowdowns.” He said he has seen “no evidence” that this is the main reason for port delays. “Labor’s there, labor’s working, there is no stoppage,” he said.
