ATA gains chassis freedom in legal win over ocean carriers
Trucking group had complained that ocean carriers forced “unreasonable prices” by requiring motor carriers to move containers only with specific intermodal chassis providers.
The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) today is celebrating a legal win after a judge held that ocean carriers are not allowed to require motor carriers to use specific intermodal chassis providers to move containers.
The news came after a Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) administrative law judge ruled in favor of the ATA’s Intermodal Motor Carriers Conference (IMCC) in its 2020 lawsuit against the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association, Consolidated Chassis Management, and 11 different ocean carriers.
The ocean carriers were: CMA CGM S.A., COSCO Shipping Lines Co. Ltd., Evergreen Line Joint Service Agreement, Hapag-Lloyd AG, HMM Co. Ltd., Maersk A/S, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co. S.A., Ocean Network Express (ONE) Pte. Ltd., Wan Hai Lines Ltd., Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., and Zim Integrated Shipping Services.
The judge held that requiring motor carriers to use specific chassis providers violates the Shipping Act. The ATA had argued that such a requirement denied motor carriers the ability to choose their provider when leasing that equipment, “heaping unjust and unreasonable prices upon trucking companies.”
Neither the Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association, Consolidated Chassis Management, nor the 11 ocean carriers have released any public statement on the case.
“This victory has been a longtime coming,” IMCC Executive Director Jonathan Eisen said in a release. “The decision is the first step in putting a stop to the practice of foreign-owned shipping lines forcing American drivers and motor carriers to use specific equipment providers to move goods – which will help reduce supply chain delays and cut costs for carriers and consumers.”
“The ocean carrier’s practices of prohibiting motor carriers from using the provider of their choice when they are paying for the chassis has held U.S. motor carriers hostage and forced them to subsidize the shipping lines,” Eisen said. “We are pleased the judge agreed and we look forward to ending these unreasonable and unjust practices permanently.”