THREE top US chassis providers filed a brief to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) siding with ocean carriers protesting an FMC ruling giving shippers and truckers final say on what brand of chassis they must use, reports New York's Journal of Commerce.
Independent equipment providers DCLI, Flexi-Van Leasing and TRAC Intermodal argued that upending the current business model, in which ocean carriers dictate the chassis required on carrier haulage, would create equipment shortages and billing problems.
Erin Wirth, the FMC's chief administrative judge, ruled in February that while ocean carriers can dictate which chassis to use under a carrier haulage agreement - also known as a door-to-door move - and that liners cannot force chassis decisions in any merchant haulage deals, or port-to-port moves.
The Ocean Carriers Equipment Management Association (OCEMA) appealed Judge Wirth's decision earlier this month. The filing by the chassis providers is an 'amicus brief' because they are not parties to the dispute.
Chassis providers wrote in the brief that Judge Wirth's decision would reduce chassis availability because DCLI, Flexi-Van and TRAC would no longer be privy to sufficient information on cargo movement to know how to allocate equipment within the US, leading to more supply chain disruptions in the future.
It would require the chassis providers to restructure chassis pools and operations to the disadvantage of the shipping public, increasing their costs and overriding the chassis providers' right to use and deploy their own assets,' said the brief.
'It would force a highly disruptive and inefficient restructuring of the [chassis] Pool of Pools at Los Angeles-Long Beach and could well force its demise, the brief said.
The 'Pool of Pools' is a shared pool of chassis covering the ports in Southern California in which DCLI, Flexi-Van Leasing, TRAC Intermodal, and others supply chassis.
Chassis providers said truckers have ulterior motives that are not in the best interest of the cargo owners, but rather benefit the North American Chassis Pool Cooperative (NACPC). NACPC's owners are also members of the American Trucking Associations.
The chassis providers argue importers and exporters have not been involved in the complaint because they sign annual contracts with ocean carriers which can include or exclude chassis choice in the terms and conditions.
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Independent equipment providers DCLI, Flexi-Van Leasing and TRAC Intermodal argued that upending the current business model, in which ocean carriers dictate the chassis required on carrier haulage, would create equipment shortages and billing problems.
Erin Wirth, the FMC's chief administrative judge, ruled in February that while ocean carriers can dictate which chassis to use under a carrier haulage agreement - also known as a door-to-door move - and that liners cannot force chassis decisions in any merchant haulage deals, or port-to-port moves.
The Ocean Carriers Equipment Management Association (OCEMA) appealed Judge Wirth's decision earlier this month. The filing by the chassis providers is an 'amicus brief' because they are not parties to the dispute.
Chassis providers wrote in the brief that Judge Wirth's decision would reduce chassis availability because DCLI, Flexi-Van and TRAC would no longer be privy to sufficient information on cargo movement to know how to allocate equipment within the US, leading to more supply chain disruptions in the future.
It would require the chassis providers to restructure chassis pools and operations to the disadvantage of the shipping public, increasing their costs and overriding the chassis providers' right to use and deploy their own assets,' said the brief.
'It would force a highly disruptive and inefficient restructuring of the [chassis] Pool of Pools at Los Angeles-Long Beach and could well force its demise, the brief said.
The 'Pool of Pools' is a shared pool of chassis covering the ports in Southern California in which DCLI, Flexi-Van Leasing, TRAC Intermodal, and others supply chassis.
Chassis providers said truckers have ulterior motives that are not in the best interest of the cargo owners, but rather benefit the North American Chassis Pool Cooperative (NACPC). NACPC's owners are also members of the American Trucking Associations.
The chassis providers argue importers and exporters have not been involved in the complaint because they sign annual contracts with ocean carriers which can include or exclude chassis choice in the terms and conditions.
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