Full Volume 19 - Federal Maritime Commission

CUMMINS ENGINE CO v U S LINES 389
Cylinder blocks and crankshafts are named in the disputed tariff item
53207
Complainant s contention that the commodities shipped are parts ofa
cylinder block assembly appears to be a reasonable one
Webster s Third New International Dictionary ofthe English Language
Unabridged 1964 defmes an assembly as
5a the act or process of building up a complete unit as a motor vehicle using parts
already in themselves finished manufacture products b a collection of parts so
assembled as to form a complete machine structure orunit of a machine
Webster s New World Dictionary College Edition 1968 defines
assembly as
4 a fittingtogether of parts to make a whole as in making automobiles
5 the parts to be thus fitted together
From the above definitions of an assembly it can reasonably be
concluded that cylinder block assemblies include those parts of an engine
the end
that go into or are attached to the cylinder block to make up
related to the
product which can be reasonably considered directly
construction of an engine An exploded view of an engine readily shows
a connecting rod gear cover and camshaft go into or are directly
attached to the cylinder block
Tariff Item No 532007 is not at all specific as to what component
parts constitute a cylinder block assembly aside from indicating such
assembly may be with or without crankshafts Such a description is so
unclear that reasonable men could differ on its application Where an
ambiguity
does exist then the tariff must be construed in such a marmer
so as to resolve such ambiguity in favor of the shipper 6
In addition the Commission has long recognized
that tariff terms
should be interpreted reasonably In National Cable and Metal Co v
American Hawaii S S Co 2 U S M C 471 1941 the Commission s
predecessor stated
In interpreting a tariff the terms used must be taken in the sense in which they are
generally understood and accepted commercially and neither carriers nor shippers
should be permitted to urge for their own purposes a strained and unnatural
construction Tariffs are to be interpreted according to the reasonable construction of
their language neither to the intent of the framers nor the practice of the carrier
controls for the shipper cannot be charged with knowledge of such intent or with
carrier s canons of instruction A proper test is whether the article may be reasonably
identified by the tariff description underlining supplied
Since connecting rod assembly head assembly gear cover and
camshaft are not specifically excluded by Item 53207 it can only be
concluded that they reasonably fall within the general description of
cylinder block assemblies and should have been so rated A proper case
1I United Nations Children Fund v Blue Sea Line 15 FMC 206 209 1972
1 Alsosee Johns Manville Products Corporation 13 FMC 194 1970 and Bulkley Dunton Overseas SA v Blue
Star Shipping Corp 8 FMC 137 140 1964
19 F M C