The FMC was established as an independent regulatory agency by Reorganization Plan No.

Under the reorganization plan, the shipping laws of the U.S. were separated into two categories, regulatory and promotional.

[4][5] The commission is composed of five commissioners, appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

The President designates one of the commissioners as Chairman, who serves as the chief executive and administrative officer of the commission.

The FMC regulations define OTI to include two classes of logistics service providers: (1) ocean freight forwarders and (2) non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs).

[8] The FMC regulations define "ocean freight forwarder" as a person that (i) in the United States, dispatches shipments from the United States via a common carrier and books or otherwise arranges space for those shipments on behalf of shippers and (ii) processes the documentation or performs related activities incident to those shipments.