FMC: Function of Ocean Freight Forwarder.. General Order 13... Hypothetical intermodal movement before and after passage of Incompatibilities of the Interstate Commerce Act and the Ship- Intermodal development.... Intermodalism and statutory conflicts. Jurisdiction of freight forwarders_. Liability and the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act Opposition to the Intermodal Bill i Rail and truck participation in intermodal carriage.. Regulatory authority of agencies in intermodal movement__ Kurrus, Richard W. ICC: Associated North Atlantic Freight Conferences, members of..... Desire to have domestic forwarders included in legislation. Effect H.R. 12429 would have on shippers. Joint rates and inland points. Letter transmitting draft legislation, dated March 8, 1973- merce Part IV-Freight Forwarders in Joint Rates. Department representative named to work with committee_____ 119 142 Rates to be applicable on an intermodal bill of lading- Justice Department— State: Legislative analysis of freight forwarders bill.. Communications submitted for the record Clearwaters: Letter dated August 15, 1974 enclosing requested information___ Letter dated November 18, 1974 enclosing information... Jorgensen, Robert K., cochairman, Traffic Committee, IAGLP, letters dated: 142 119 Kuykendall, John R., vice president, Matson Navigation Co., letter Kurrus, Richard W., letter dated January 14, 1975 enclosing information requested.. 193 155 194 Stafford, George M., chairman, ICC, letters dated March 8, 1973 to Chairmen Magnuson and Staggers- 94 108 Sullivan, Hon. Leonor K., letter to Hon. George M. Stafford dated 108 INTERMODAL TRANSPORTATION TUESDAY, AUGUST 13, 1974 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE AND FISHERIES, Washington, D.C. The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10:12 a.m., in Room 1334, Longworth Office Building, the Honorable Leonor K. Sullivan, the chairman, presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please come to order. Good morning everyone. While we are waiting for some of the other members I will read an opening statement that I think will set the tone of this hearing. We are meeting today, tomorrow and Thursday to hear and collect testimony on H.R. 12428 and H.R. 12429, bills which would amend the Shipping Act of 1916 in order to facilitate intermodal transportation, and for other purposes. We are holding these hearings before the full committee because of the great importance of this subject matter and the fact that it would encourage more attendance and participation by a wider range of the members of the committee. Because of the press of other business, I may be unable to preside at all of these meetings. In cases in which I will not be able to be here, the Honorable Frank M. Clark, chairman of the Subcommittee on Merchant Marine, will preside in my place. The subject of intermodal movements is of great importance and is highly complex and controversial. The legislative genesis of this subject matter goes back to 1965. This joint board type of legislation led to S. 3235 and H.R. 16023, which would authorize and foster joint rates for international transportation of property. S. 3235 was the subject of hearings on June 17 and 19, 1968 before the Senate Commerce Committee. Problems involving intermodal transportation quickly surfaced at these hearings. In the next several years, several bills were introduced dealing with the intermodal problem. In 1972, the Federal Maritime Commission came forward with an intermodal legislative proposal which became H.R. 15464. Hearings were held here in Washington on that bill on September 18, 1972, and in San Francisco on September 25, and 26, 1972. Again, the hearing record indicated the complexity of the problems involved in intermodal legislation. For the past year and a half, the staff of the committee has been working primarily with the staff of the Federal Maritime Commission and to a lesser extent, the staffs of other involved agencies, and with industry people, in an attempt to reduce the problems to manageable proposals in a legislative package or packages. These efforts have resulted in H.R. 12428 and H.R. 12429. The latter is largely a proposal forwarded by the Federal Maritime Commission and is a bill which has reduced the many complex problems and presents them in a form which the interested parties can reasonably digest and comment on. H.R. 12429 does make an honest effort to resolve, or at least alleviate, the very pressing problem of jurisdiction of intermodal movements which concerns the Federal Maritime Commission, the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the Civil Aeronautics Board. H.R. 12429 also addresses the problems of intermodal movements with respect to domestic offshore commerce and the problem of liability. H.R. 12428 was put together by the committee staff in cooperation with some industry interests. The purpose of H.R. 12428 is simply to extend the present section 15 antitrust immunity over ocean conferences and carriers to apply to agreements with inland modes such as the railroads and the truckers. Every issue involving intermodal transportation seems to be controversial and characterized by differing, and sometimes divisive views. The one issue upon which most of the interested intermodal parties seem to agree was that an extension of the antitrust immunity between the ocean and inland carriers would be mutually beneficial. Because this was the one area out of all this sea of controversy upon which there seemed to be some unanimity, we felt it might be sensible to try to legislate solely in this area, regarding this as a first step and as a springboard to future legislative work with respect to intermodal transportation. We felt that this was a good first step to break the ice and that perhaps we could build on this in the future. One of the main problems involving intermodal legislation has been a conflict of jurisdictional responsibilities between the regulatory agencies. This is a basic but difficult problem, and I am not sure Congress or the executive branch or anyone else will be able to come up with a resolution of this matter. H.R. 12428 impacts hardly at all on the jurisdictional problem, and H.R. 12429 does attempt to avoid it. As a corollary to the conflicting jurisdictional interests between the regulatory agencies. the possibility exists that the jurisdictional issue could spill over to interested congressional committees. We have fought for almost 2 years to protect the integrity of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee against the depradations of the Select Committee on committee's recommendations. This critical matter has not yet been resolved and still must go before the members on the House floor for resolution. In addition, this committee found itself engaged in an unlooked-for and unwanted struggle with another committee of the House with respect to offshore terminal legislation. Fortunately, our committee was able to win that fight on the House floor. However, we do not need, nor want, another such confrontation with any other committee of Congress. In light of this recent jurisdictional background, I want all the parties to clearly understand that despite our interest in intermodal movements and legislation governing such international movements, we cannot, and will not, allow this legislation to involve us in a jurisdictional fight with another committee. However, this does not mean that we intend abandoning our legitimate jurisdictional responsibilities. The staff has already labored many hours with the staffs of interested agencies and industry representatives to arrive at representative legislation which can be used as a basis for meaningful hearings. I think H.R. 12428 and H.R. 12429 will serve as useful vehicles. We do not delude ourselves as to the complexity of the issues involved, and we expect these hearings to generate a great deal of controversy concerning this proposed legislation. However, we are convinced that we must get started in the area of intermodal legislation and build a record so that we will be able to isolate the issues and gain some insight into the differing positions so that deliberate analysis may show the merit or lack of merit of the various positions propounded. I hope all the witnesses will testify with the objective in mind that we are attempting to fashion representative intermodal legislation, and we hope all the interested parties will attempt to keep divisiveness to a minimum and will advance their respective positions in the spirit of all working together to ultimately arrive at a workable intermodal legislative package which this committee can take to the House floor with some assurance of passage. Before proceeding with the witnesses, I would like to say that since the specter of impeachment proceedings has disappeared, it is hoped that the committee can pick up these intermodal hearings again in late September, at which time we will finish up with the Government witnesses and begin hearing the industry witnesses. The first witness will be the Honorable Helen Delich Bentley, Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission. Before hearing the first witness, I would like to defer to my colleague, the Honorable Frank M. Clark, chairman of the Subcommittee on Merchant Marine, for a brief statement. Mr. Clark. Mr. CLARK. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I am in complete agreement with your excellent statement, and look forward to these hearings on proposed legislation that should facilitate intermodal transportation. It has always been my view that the American shipper or consignee should be the primary beneficiary of any legislation promoting socalled intermodal transportation, and I plan to approach these hearings with this in mind. Rather than comment further, Madam Chairman, I would rather have the hearings proceed so that we can get on with sorting out what you have correctly described as a most complex problem. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. The bills, H.R. 12428 and H.R. 12429, and the departmental reports, will appear in the record at this point. [The material referred to follows:] [H.R. 12428, 93d Cong., 2d sess.] A BILL To amend the Shipping Act, 1916, in order to facilitate intermodal transportation, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 15 of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46 U.S.C. 814), is amended by inserting after the first paragraph the following new paragraph: "This section shall apply to agreements involving the through intermodal transportation of property between points in the United States and points abroad or between points in the continental United States and points in noncontiguous States, territories, and possessions, between a vessel-operating common carrier by water, and a common carrier regulated under part I, II, or III of the Interstate Commerce Act and/or a direct (not an indirect) air carrier regulated under the Federal Aviation Act and/or a carrier operating transportation company located in a foreign country whose facilities or instrumentalities are utilized for a porton of such through intermodal transportation.". SEC. 2. In order to further facilitate through intermodal transportation of property in foreign and domestic noncontiguous commerce, the Federal Maritime Commission, the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the Civil Aeronautics Board, shall within six months of the date of enactment of this Act promulgate uniform rules and regulations governing the content, format, and filing of tariffs providing for intermodal services and systems. SEC. 3. One year following the date of enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, the Interstate Commerce Commission, and the Civil Aeronautics Board shall report directly to the Congress with respect to— (1) the need for additional legislation to further facilitate the through intermodal transportation of property in foreign and domestic noncontiguous trade, and (2) conflicts between the statutes administered by their respective agencies which may inhibit the full development of intermodal services and systems, together with such legislative recommendations as they may deem appropriate to accomplish the foregoing. [H.R. 12429, 93d Cong., 2d sess.] A BILL To amend the Shipping Act, 1916, in order to facilitate intermodal transportation, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the first section of the Shipping Act, 1916 (46 U.S.C. 801), is amended as follows: (a) By inserting at the end of the third paragraph the following: "For purposes of this Act, the term 'common carrier by water' shall include an intermodal carrier as hereinafter defined." (b) By adding the following new paragraphs immediately after the third paragraph: "The term 'intermodal carrier' means a common carrier by water (except a nonvessel operating common carrier), holding itself out as a common carrier to provide through intermodal transportation of property, part of which involves the foreign or domestic offshore waterborne commerce of the United States and part of which involves movements outside of or within the United States, including intercoastal or coastwise water transportation or transportation on the Great Lakes, or transportation within a territory, a district, a possession, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, which carrier does one or more of the following: "(a) quotes single factor rates for an intermodal service over a through route, "(b) assumes responsibility for the through transportation of such property from place of receipt to place of delivery, "(c) utilizes for a portion of the transportation its own facilities and instrumentalities and for a portion of the transportation the underlying facilities and instrumentalities of another common carrier or carriers. "The term 'domestic offshore commerce' means commerce by water on the high seas or the Great Lakes on regular routes from port to port between any State, a territory, a district, a possession, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other territory, district, possession, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or between the State of Alaska, or the State of Hawaii, and any State, or between places within a territory, a district, a possession, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico." SEC. 2. Section 14 is amended by adding immediately after the term "foreign country" in the first sentence, the following: "or with respect to a through intermodal movement". |