FOR RELEASE - June 26, 2008

          On Tuesday, June 25, 2008, the Federal Maritime Commission was briefed by representatives of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA) and the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA). The industry briefing afforded the Commission an opportunity to gain greater awareness of current economic issues affecting carriers in the import and export trades.         

          The briefing was provided by Ron Widdows, CEO of American President Lines, and representatives of five other shipping lines were in attendance.  The Commissioners and staff were briefed on some of the economic issues impacting vessel-operating common carriers in the trades, as well as some of the recent global trends.  The presentation focused on economic conditions affecting capacity and equipment availability in the U.S. export trade.            

          The industry briefing was another in a series intended to broaden the Commission's understanding of the events and issues shaping the various segments of the maritime industry.  The Commissioners expressed appreciation for the opportunity to hear from the carriers' CEO principals.  As one of the purposes of the Shipping Act is to promote the growth of U.S. exports through a competitive ocean transportation system, the Commission encouraged the carriers to move forward with substantive discussions with shippers to explore realistic solutions to the commercial difficulties facing U.S. exporters. 

 
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Press Contact:  Karen V. Gregory (202) 523-5725; e-mail:  secretary@fmc.gov