The Federal Maritime Commission voted to take no action to prevent amendments to the West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) related to "PierPass" from becoming effective.
Under the terms of the updated agreement (FMC Agreement No. 201143), WCMTOA will replace the current two-tier PierPass fee structure with a uniform flat fee applicable to certain container moves on all shifts. It will also establish appointment systems for dray truckers serving marine terminal facilities at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach.
As part of its vote, the Commission directed agency staff to review how monitoring requirements on WCMTOA can be enhanced. The Commission will consider and vote on staff recommendations on how to increase monitoring of the agreement during a yet to be scheduled closed meeting to be held in the coming weeks.
"Though not acting to stop the amendment from becoming effective, I continue to have concerns regarding the joint fee pricing process used by the terminal operators via WCMTOA," said Acting Chairman Michael A. Khouri.
Commissioner Rebecca Dye said, "All parties concerned with the supply chain—carriers, terminal operators, truckers, and shippers—should focus on port efficiency and cargo fluidity. I share Chairman Khouri’s concerns about aspects of PierPass, and emphasize that achieving actual visibility into the supply chain will ultimately alleviate the need for programs like PierPass."
The amended agreement goes into effect on Monday, November 19, 2018.
WCMTOA originally filed this amendment on April 13, 2018, but the Commission issued a Request for Additional Information on May 24, 2018. A response was received from WCMTOA on October 5, 2018.