President Biden signs Ocean Shipping Reform Act into law

President Biden on Thursday signed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, a bill designed to improve shipping backlogs, into law.

The House passed the bill by a 369-42 vote earlier this week.

Vessel-operating common carriers (VOCCs) have been delivering massive volumes of imported shipments to U.S. ports and then elected to leave without refilling empty containers with American goods and products. Whereas shipping containers filled with imported goods are normally unloaded, sent to rural areas, filled with agricultural commodities and then shipped abroad, the lucrative freight rates paid by the import cargo, combined with congestion at ports on the West and East Coasts are leading VOCCs to immediately return empty containers to their overseas ports of origin. Read more