Volkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft v. Federal Maritime Commission

The petitioner, a German manufacturer of automobiles, is one of the largest users of the ports on the West Coast of the United States, delivering through them more than 40,000 vehicles each year, the majority transported there by vessels chartered by the petitioner rather than by common carrier. This case grows out of the petitioner’s claim that charges imposed upon the unloading of its automobiles at Pacific Coast ports are in violation of the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended. 39 Stat. 728, 46 U. S. C. § 801 et seq. The dispute has a long and somewhat complicated history.

The Pacific Maritime…