The three main global ocean carrier alliances and each of their member companies will now be required to provide enhanced pricing and capacity information to the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, giving it uniform data to assess ocean carrier behavior and competitiveness in the market.

According to an FMC statement, the new mandated information will provide the Commission’s Bureau of Trade Analysis (BTA) with insight into pricing of individual trade lanes and by container and service type. It will also provide more immediate information regarding capacity management decisions of ocean carriers and alliances.

This change comes from a yearlong examination by the BTA to determine what data is needed to properly analyze the marketplace and the behavior of ocean shippers. 

Under the new requirements, carriers participating in an alliance will need to submit pricing information about cargo they move on the major trade lanes, and both carriers and alliances will be mandated to submit comprehensive information related to capacity management.

The three ocean carrier alliances (2M, OCEAN, and THE) are already subject to the most frequent and stringent monitoring requirements of any type of agreement on file at the Commission. 

Information already collected includes detailed operational data, minutes from meetings among agreement principals, and regularly scheduled meetings with agreement parties where Commission staff address issues of concern.