Poor service when containers are available is unacceptable, they said
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Two members of President Biden’s administration are asking ocean carriers to serve the ag community better.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote a letter to multiple ocean carrier companies urging them to improve overall service.
This year has seen carriers send shipping containers back to Asia empty after they’ve been offloaded in the United States.
And some carriers suspended operations at the Port of Oakland.
These behaviors need to change in order to ensure American ag products can reach customers in a timely fashion, the secretaries said.
“Shippers of U.S. grown agricultural commodities and goods have seen reduced service, everchanging return dates, and unfair fees as containers have short-circuited the usual pathways and been rushed to be exported empty,” they said in their Dec. 17 letter. “The poor service and refusal to serve customers when the empty containers are clearly available is unacceptable and, if not resolved quickly, may require further examination and action by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).”
Under the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which the House of Representatives passed on Dec. 8, the FMC could be given the authority to investigate carrier actions and apply enforcement measures if necessary.
Industry groups applauded the secretaries for taking this action.
“United Fresh supports continued efforts by the Biden Administration to address the challenges impacting our West Coast ports that are vital to the fresh produce supply chain,” the United Fresh Produce Association said in a statement.
The National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council also supported the secretaries sending the letter to the ocean carriers.