FMC Should Develop Strategy to Modernize Data Collection, GAO Says
The Federal Maritime Commission should develop a strategy to modernize how it collects data, so the agency can better monitor shippers' challenges and trends in the maritime shipping industry, the Government Accountability Office said in one of four recommendations to the FMC in an April 23 report examining whether carriers took advantage of shippers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The GAO also recommended the FMC develop an outreach plan for communicating its complaint processes; review its Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services (CADRS) complaint form to ensure it is collecting specific information on shippers' challenges; and update procedures for the CADRS and Bureau of Enforcement, Investigations, and Compliance offices to ensure they include all actions staff can take in response to concerns of shippers.
The FMC doesn't require shippers to disclose the type of good, including whether the good is hazardous or perishable, or the port of import or export in a CADRS complaint, the GAO said. Collecting more data through the CADRS process would help the agency to "more effectively monitor and respond to concerns in the maritime industry," it said.
The GAO also found that the FMC doesn't have an outreach plan to communicate about its complaint processes, it said. The commission has taken some steps to educate shippers and others in the maritime industry, including updating a webpage on filing a complaint, GAO said. However, "selected shippers" still view the FMC complaint processes as "generally time-consuming."
CADRS and the charge complaint process give shippers new ways to submit complaints that don't require as many resources, GAO said. But the commission didn't describe or reference the charge complaint process on its complaints webpage, the report said.
The report was commissioned as part of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 to gather information on whether carriers took advantage of shippers of hazardous materials during the pandemic through "systemic and unreasonable denial of vessel space or other means," the GAO said. The report focused on shippers' experience with shipping hazardous materials during the pandemic; how the amount of hazardous materials changed from 2018 to 2022; and actions the FMC has taken to collect, manage and use its "complaint data," the GAO said.
The report found that while imports of hazardous materials increased from 2018 to 2020, the imports of hazardous materials remained "stagnant" from 2020 to 2022, the office said. The GAO also said that exports of hazardous materials also increased from 2018 to 2020 but decreased from 2020 to 2022.
FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said he appreciates the recommendations but noted that he was surprised since it was "not what Congress requested." The GAO based its recommendations on interviews with a handful of shippers who transport hazardous materials and acted as if this was a "representative sample," Maffei said. Maffei also pointed out other outreach efforts that were not included in the report.
The other recommendations were "already consistent" with FMC practices or were being practiced by the FMC, Maffei said. This includes "identifiable and concrete steps" that the FMC has taken to modernize its information and technology systems, including hiring a new chief information officer, Maffei said (see 2403120023).