§40501 General rate and tariff requirements

Summary

Common carriers and conferences must keep public electronic tariffs that show their rates, charges, classifications, rules, and practices for moving cargo on their routes and on any through routes. They do not have to show inland parts of a through rate. The rule does not apply to bulk cargo, forest products, recycled metal scrap, new assembled motor vehicles, waste paper, or paper waste. Each tariff must say the places served, list the cargo classes used, show any payment to an ocean freight forwarder, list each terminal or other charge and any rules that affect the total cost, include sample bills of lading or similar contracts, and include copies of loyalty contracts without the shipper’s name. Tariffs must be available online to anyone with no time or quantity limits. A reasonable access fee is allowed, but Federal agencies pay nothing. Rates can change based on the amount of cargo over a set time. New or higher rates that raise shipper costs must wait 30 days after they are published before they take effect, unless the Federal Maritime Commission allows an earlier start for good cause. Lower rates can take effect when published. Marine terminal operators may publish public schedules of their rates and limits on liability, and those schedules can be enforced as implied contracts even if people did not know them. The Federal Maritime Commission must set rules for how these electronic systems and terminal schedules work, can ban systems that fail, but cannot force a carrier to provide a public access terminal.