Reporting Requirements for Agreements With Authority To Discuss or Exchange Vessel-Operating Cost Data Sample Clauses

Reporting Requirements for Agreements With Authority To Discuss or Exchange Vessel-Operating Cost Data. OCCA objects to the heightened reporting requirements on agreements that contain the authority to discuss or exchange data on vessel-operating costs. OCCA at 7. OCCA notes that reporting on such authority was first adopted by the Commission in its rulemaking in Information Form and Post-Effective Reporting Requirements for Agreements Among Ocean Common Carriers Subject to the Shipping Act of 1984, FMC Docket No. 94–31, which established the current Information Form and Monitoring Report regulations. Id. It argues that the Commission’s initial rationale for assigning heightened reporting requirements to such authority was, and continues to be, questionable from both a legal and a practical perspective. Id. at 7–8. Specifically, OCCA refers to the Commission’s application of Supreme Court cases,18 where the Commission stated that ‘‘the sharing of pricing information can have a significant impact on price competition.’’ 19 Id. at 7. It argues that these Supreme Court cases involved the sharing of price information rather than cost information, and therefore, it questions the validity of the Commission’s previous legal analysis in FMC Docket No. 94–31. Id. at 7–8. OCCA further cites case law where it was found that the sharing of cost information by competing manufacturers was lawful because it improved efficiency and lowered costs.20 Id. at 8. From a practical perspective, OCCA argues that the authority to discuss or exchange vessel-operating cost data has no meaningful impact on pricing because carriers price based on total costs, in addition to market conditions, and vessel-operating costs are only a portion of total costs. Id. Moreover, OCCA points out that most vessel- operating cost data is publicly available information and can be readily obtained or discerned regardless of whether carriers are authorized to share such data. Id. at 8–9. Further, OCCA believes that heightened reporting requirements on such authority creates an excessive burden for carriers that obstructs efficiency because carriers generally discuss or exchange such data within their vessel-sharing agreements, which promote cost-effective services. Id. at 9. For these reasons, it recommends that the Commission delete all references to such authority from the rule, including the Information Form and Monitoring Report.21 Id. The Commission disagrees that its legal or economic rationale in FMC Docket No. 94–31 was misguided, as XXXX argues. The Commission considers the ‘‘sharing of pricing ...