Biden pushing to lower ocean shipping costs, fight inflation

Jun 9, 2022, 8:08 AM | Updated: 12:38 pm

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden launched a renewed push Thursday to reduce the costs of shipping goods across oceans, a major challenge for retailers that the White House said has pushed up prices as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.

The White House released a video featuring Biden talking with retail CEOs and calling on the House to pass the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, which the Senate passed at the end of March.

The measure would empower the Federal Maritime Commission to investigate late fees charged by carriers and prohibit ocean carriers and marine terminals from refusing to fill available cargo space. Biden’s broader message is that a concentration of corporate power has contributed to higher shipping costs in ways that hurt businesses and fuel inflation.

The video features Biden sitting in the Oval Office, talking by speaker phone with the heads of Tractor Supply, Jo-Ann Stores and the American Farm Bureau Federation.

“There’s only nine shipping companies, nine, N-I-N-E, major ocean line shipping companies who ship from Asia to the United States,” Biden said. “These companies have raised their prices by as much as 1,000%.”

Jo-Ann Stores, a fabric and craft retailer operating in 49 states, have seen a $100 million increase in shipping costs.

“We’re not a huge company, but that $100 million increase that they passed onto us is, you know, more than our entire profit,” Jo-Ann Stores CEO Wade Miquelon told the president in the video.

The White House said that shipping cost increases will likely add a full percentage point to the increase in consumer prices over the next year, according to research by the Kansas City Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.

Over the past decade, the nine largest ocean carriers have increased their control of the market. They now account for 80% of global container shipping by volume and control 95% of the critical East-West trade lines, the White House said.

Improving supply chains has been a major focus of the Biden administration for the past year, even as other factors — such as food and energy — are now driving inflation. The U.S. government will release on Friday its May consumer price index, which is expected to show inflation of 8.2%. That would be close to a 40-year high set earlier this year.

Biden on Friday will speak at the Port of Los Angeles, which moved last year to round-the-clock operations in order to reduce shipping bottlenecks and relieve inflationary pressures.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

FILE - Police officers stand outside a Target store as a group of people protest across the street,...

Associated Press

Pride becomes a minefield for big companies, but many continue their support

Many big companies, including Target and Bud Light's parent, are still backing Pride events in June despite the minefield that the monthlong celebration has become for some of them.

1 day ago

FILE - Then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden plays music on a phone as he arrives to spe...

Associated Press

Biden, looking to shore up Hispanic support, faces pressure to get 2024 outreach details right

Joe Biden vowed in 2020 to work “like the devil” to energize Hispanic voters, and flew to Florida seven weeks before Election Day to do just that.

1 day ago

Editorial members of the Austin American-Statesman's Austin NewsGuild picket along the Congress Ave...

Associated Press

Hundreds of journalists strike to demand leadership change at biggest US newspaper chain

Journalists at two dozen local newspapers across the U.S. walked off the job Monday to demand an end to painful cost-cutting measures and a change of leadership at Gannett, the country's biggest newspaper chain.

1 day ago

FILE - The logo of the Organization of the Petroleoum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is seen outside of...

Associated Press

Saudi Arabia reducing global oil supply, could spell higher prices for US drivers

Saudi Arabia will reduce how much oil it sends to the global economy, taking a unilateral step to prop up the sagging price of crude.

2 days ago

This photo provided by Robert Wilkes, owner of a house boat management company, shows smoke rising ...

Associated Press

Houseboats catch fire while docked at Wahweap Marina on Lake Powell

More than half a dozen house boats momentarily caught fire at a popular boating destination on the Utah-Arizona line on Friday.

4 days ago

File - Women work in a restaurant kitchen in Chicago, Thursday, March 23, 2023. On Friday, the U.S....

Associated Press

US hiring, unemployment jump in May and what that says about the economy

The nation’s employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations.

4 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

...

SANDERSON FORD

Thank you to Al McCoy for 51 years as voice of the Phoenix Suns

Sanderson Ford wants to share its thanks to Al McCoy for the impact he made in the Valley for more than a half-decade.

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...

Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.

Biden pushing to lower ocean shipping costs, fight inflation