Aerial top view of cargo maritime ship with contrail in the ocean ship carrying container and running for export concept technology freight shipping by ship smart service

National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) President and CEO Eric R. Byer issued the following statement today welcoming the passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (S.3580) by the U.S. Senate.

“For well over a year, NACD has been ringing the alarm about the supply chain crisis, its impacts on businesses and consumers, and potential solutions. President Biden highlighted the shipping crisis during his State of the Union address last month, and his Administration is now investigating antitrust, competition, and price collusion in the ocean carrier industry. Congress is also conducting its own review of ocean shipping practices.

Now, the Senate has taken bold action on a critical component of addressing the supply chain crisis by unanimously passing the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (S.3580). The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 will strengthen the Federal Maritime Commission’s (FMC) current enforcement abilities, expanding its authority to ensure industry-wide compliance with federal law, and establishing a streamlined process for addressing demurrage and detention complaints. It will also give the General Accounting Office (GAO) the tools it needs to investigate the extent to which ocean carriers have systemically discriminated against the transportation of hazardous materials (HazMat).

NACD thanks the Senate for quickly passing this important bill, and Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Thune (R-SD) for their leadership on this issue. We encourage Congress to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the bill so that we can move forward expeditiously with the ocean shipping reform that is necessary for our nation’s economic and national security.”