The new U.S. Shipping Act aims to prevent the continued disruption of U.S. supply chains.
With the enactment of the 2022 Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA), the new legislation gives more power to the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in the United States.
This new legislation is supposed to help mitigate the ongoing disruption of supply chains in that country.
Brian Whitlock, Senior Analyst Director of Gartner’s Supply Chain Practice, analyzed the impact this new law will have on U.S. logistics.
He specified that, initially, it grants certain powers and mandates the FMC to take a more proactive role in investigating carrier behavior.
OSRA calls for the FMC to establish rules governing the fairness of detention and delay charges and enforce carrier obligations to support U.S. exports.
Shipping Act provides benefits to shippers
The legislation also shifts the burden of proof to carriers in the event of disputes, which is a great benefit to shippers who did not file complaints in the past due to this burden.
In addition, OSRA will provide benefits to shippers in the long run, but will have no effect, today or in the future, on the market challenges that logistics leaders are facing.
This is because these are problems of a more structural nature and rates are a function of high demand and low supply, neither of which OSRA will solve.
