Shippers and ocean carriers face off over “OSRA 2010”
by George Lauriat Dec 12, 2010
On September 22nd 2010, Congressman Elijah Cummings (Dem-MD) introduced bill H.R. 6167 which would alter the regulatory regime of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998. Representative James Oberstar (Dem-MN), Chairman of House Transportation and Infrastructure, in introducing the bill before Congress dubbed OSRA 2010, said “H.R. 6167 will modernize regulation of the shipping industry by increasing competition and improving services for moving goods.” Oberstar, who lost his re-election bid in November, noted, “H.R. 6167 eliminates antitrust immunity for ocean carrier agreements, which has allowed ocean common carriers to get together to discuss, fix or regulate transportation rates. Antitrust immunity for these agreements was initially granted to enable carriers to stabilize their economic position through controlling rates and capacity. In fact, Congress has long been concerned about the anticompetitive impact of these conference agreements.”The bill’s anti-trust provision has pitted US shippers against the ocean carriers. The following articles represent both sides of the argument.- By George Lauriat, AJOT
