Federal Maritime Commission Looking Into Shipping Practices of Steamship Companies

The Federal Maritime Commission is currently investigating the practices of steamship companies who transport cargo containers to and from the United States. This is because US-based importers are still having problems shipping their containers, which may affect the recovering US economy. The commission is expected to turn in their interim findings on June 15 while the final report will be submitted by June 30.

Because of the weakened demand for imports in early 2009, shipping companies had to stop using some of their vessels. When demand once again picked up at the end of last year and early this year, importers started having problems with finding space on the cargo ships for their containers. The US-based importers continued to encounter shipping problems even until now, which is why the commission was given authorization to look into the practices of steamship companies. The commission is expected to turn in their findings as well as recommendations.

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