CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated the date Commissioner Doyle's term was set to expire, and implied his exit was tied to the new administration. The post has been updated with a statement from Commissioner Doyle.
Dive Brief:
- Federal Maritime Commissioner William Doyle will step down from his post on the regulatory board on Jan. 3, according to a statement.
- JOC.com reports the regulator was considered an “activist commissioner” for using the position to push through “practical solutions to industry problems.”
- American Shipper adds Doyle helped convince China to adopt a value added tax instead of a business tax for ocean freight, address port congestion and alleviate labor relations during his term.
Dive Insight:
Doyle's departure could be interpreted as rooted in a new administration, but the Commissioner clarified in an e-mail "there was no pressure from the White House for me to set a resignation date or resign."
"My term as a Federal Maritime Commissioner does not expire until June 30, 2018. And, under the law I am subject to, I could stay on thereafter indefinitely until a new Commissioner is nominated, confirmed and appointed by the President," Doyle told Supply Chain Dive. "I work very well with this Administration," he added.
His departure leaves the Trump administration two vacancies to fill. After all, Federal Maritime Commissioner Mario Cordero also stepped down earlier this year to become the executive director of the Port of Long Beach.
Examining his own legacy in his exit statement, Doyle revealed the large role a regulator can have in addressing industry concerns.
“Over the past five years there has been an enormous amount of change in the international maritime industry including consolidations, mergers, bankruptcies, and the advent of mega ocean carrier alliances,” he wrote in his statement. The FMC approves and works with the international companies to build in “safeguards” into such treaties, protecting shippers from the effects of market consolidation.
In the worst of cases, he notes Commissioners also act as crisis managers, representing shippers. That was the case in 2014 and 2015, when Doyle worked with the White House to conclude the labor crisis. It was also the case more recently in 2016, when he “was on the phone every day for about 45 days straight, with Hanjin officials trying to help them move cargo” after the carrier's bankruptcy.
So, although it was expected, his departure leaves shippers without an active voice for their interests, and a two-spot vacuum within the agency’s leadership.
If expected politics prevail, the vacuum will be filled by GOP members. The question is whether (and when) the current administration will find an equally active board member, and if so, what their areas of focus will be.
