NR 16-01
Contact: Karen V. Gregory, Secretary, (202) 523-5725
FMC Chairman Mario Cordero announced today that, by unanimous vote, the Commission has agreed with his recommendation to issue an Order directing Commissioner Rebecca Dye to work with U.S. international supply chain stakeholders to form Supply Chain Innovation Teams that will develop commercial solutions to supply chain challenges and related port congestion concerns.
The project will involve stakeholders who do business at or with the San Pedro Bay ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Commissioner Dye was also directed to identify potential commercial solutions to certain unresolved problems that may interfere in the future with the reliable operation of the U.S. supply chain. Chairman Cordero noted that Commissioner Dye would be addressing the engagement project in greater detail at the Commission’s next public meeting on February 18th.
Chairman Cordero emphasized that Commissioner Dye’s supply chain engagement project is separate and distinct from the competition analysis being conducted by the FMC’s Bureau of Trade Analysis of PierPASS’s off-peak gates program. “Commissioner Dye has been designated to undertake a broader effort to address congestion-related bottlenecks and other supply chain efficiency issues,” Cordero said. “In effect, her work will be the next significant step in the Commission’s efforts to encourage collaborative, innovative supply chain integration efforts that we initiated through our regional port forums. I am appreciative that Commissioner Dye is willing to take on this important task. I believe that she is uniquely qualified, credible, and experienced to meet the considerable challenges likely to be involved.”
Commissioner Dye stressed that many industry representatives agree on the fundamental importance of establishing regional, high-level supply chain teams to cope with increasingly complex international transportation problems that no individual industry segment can effectively address alone. “Their message is clear,” Dye said. “We need to assemble a committed team of industry leaders who, by stepping outside of their usual silos, will identify commercial solutions that enhance supply chain effectiveness, reliability, and resilience.”
Dye stressed that the FMC is not proposing regulatory solutions, but rather is seeking to assemble working teams of industry leaders to develop commercial innovations that would support adaptive and resilient supply chain systems. “I recently visited both San Pedro ports,” Commissioner Dye added, “and had a chance to see the fine work undertaken by the port directors as part of their Supply Chain Optimization Groups. They’ve made an excellent start, and I expect their efforts will continue to bear fruit. Our supply chain team project is intended to complement, not interfere with, the progress being made at the two ports.”
Dye also pointed out that the engagement project would depend on the willingness of all parties to “roll up their sleeves” and share information and views fully and candidly. In that regard, confidentiality of discussions would be critical. “I look forward to actively engaging with leadership teams of all supply chain actors, including port officials, terminal operators, port labor, drayage truckers, railroads, ocean transportation intermediaries, ocean carriers and America’s exporters and importers, to develop innovative commercial approaches that enhance America’s international supply chain performance.”