Appeals Court Upholds FMC's Authority to Strike Down Unreasonable Container Detention Fees

A federal appeals court has upheld a landmark Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) decision finding that ocean carriers cannot impose detention charges that do not serve their intended purpose of promoting the efficient movement of cargo through the supply chain.

In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected all of Evergreen Shipping Agency (America) Corp.’s challenges to an FMC order that found the carrier’s detention fees were unreasonable after a trucking company was unable to return equipment during a three-day closure of the Port of Savannah.

The ruling stems from a closely watched