House Select Committee Interrogates Carriers on Rate Increases
Democrats who lead the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis are asking major carriers for extensive documents and proprietary information, saying they have the authority to investigate price gouging and profiteering connected to the pandemic.
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In letters to Maersk, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd sent March 2, Chairman James Clyburn, D-S.C., and House Oversight Committee Economic Subcommittee Chairman Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., asked for "All documents, including research, analyses, policies, presentations, internal communications, and external communications -- including communications with other ocean shipping carriers -- related to [your] East-West shipping rates, including fees and surcharges, and how the company sets these rates." They also wrote, "Our Committees are concerned that the world’s largest shipping companies -- including [each company named in individual letters] -- appear to have raised shipping rates far above costs, generating enormous corporate profit at the expense of shipping customers and the broader American economy. The Committees are further concerned that shipping companies may be utilizing this temporary price spike to lock in longterm contracts at inflated price rates, ensuring corporate windfalls continue at the expense of consumers for many years to come."
And they asked the companies to explain why their shipping rate increases for Pacific Ocean routes "significantly exceeded your increases in operating costs," and asked them what steps their companies are planning, if any, to lower the rates this year.