This month we ask a simple but important question – Is your shipment really “fully insured”?
As a general rule, incidents of damage and/or theft occurring as a result of freight forwarders’ moving of products on behalf of their clients are mercifully rare. However, if it does happen, it will, at best, cause a great deal of hassle and inconvenience and at worst, cause irreplaceable stock and significant losses in profits. Your orders are “in the care of the carrier”, but that does not necessarily mean that the value of your orders and the duty incurred on them are “fully insured”.
More on: https://kbl.kukla-spedition.com/is-your-shipment-fully-insured
STRIKES
Liverpool port dispute escalates with extended strike dates
The strike has been called off pending a vote on a new offer
Carriers have been diverting cargo from Liverpool to other ports in the UK or European trans-shipment ports for feeder services.
Port Technology Magazine summarises the situation in this article. Shipment arrivals affected by strikes, but supply chains remain resilient
Due to continuous strike action, there has been a drastic decrease in vessel arrivals at the Port of Liverpool. Dwell times are still within tolerance levels and do not threaten the UK supply chain. According to the data, shippers may have avoided the Port of Liverpool since the strike was looming. Weekly shipments arriving during the weeks of 2 and 16 October were down by 46 per cent and 68 per cent, respectively, compared to the beginning of August.
GENERAL UPDATES
South Africa’s industrial action at the port terminals ended as transport unions reached a three-year deal until 31 March 2025. However, following the long period of strikes, expect residual disruption in cargo movements and additional origin handling charges for shipments from and to South Africa are likely to be in place for a while.
In North America, vessel waiting time in ports is currently between 1-28 days due to terminal capacity limits, congestion and high import volumes.
SEA FREIGHT UPDATE
The vessel fleet remains underutilised
Supply and demand balances are under pressure, with global demand continuing to decline. According to Container Trade Statistics (CTS), the annualised growth in August 2022 was lower than in 2019, which means vessel utilisation will be modest unless carriers reduce capacity substantially.
More on: https://www.sea-intelligence.com/press-room/169-vessel-utilisation-remains-low
The main drivers for freight-rate inflation
The underlying costs for operating liner services have increased significantly compared to the past two years, reported Sea-Intelligence. The size of that increase is essential in determining what the baseline rate level might be once the current rate renormalisation is complete.
As only a handful of container carriers provide detailed cost data, Sea-Intelligence has considered German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd which consistently published this type of information with the greatest accuracy level over several years.
More on: https://container-news.com/sea-intelligence-points-to-main-freight-rate-inflation-drivers/
EUROPE RAIL AND ROAD UPDATE
UK cargo moves on rail and road, likely to be disrupted
National transport RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers) union for rail has a planned series of strikes on 5th November, 7th and 9th November 2022. Several train operating companies will be affected by the industrial action and freight movements are likely to encounter disruption, face congestion and be affected by road and rail capacity issues.
More strikes in France
Another strike is scheduled for 10 November 2022, following several strikes in October that disrupted France. Professionals from different sectors are anticipated to participate in the protest, the CGT union issued the notice. It is expected that there will be severe transport disruptions.
Truck drivers blockade in Brazil
Truckers who support Brazil’s outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro are protesting, blocking roads throughout the country. Their actions could affect exports in one of the world’s top food producers. No port was impacted so far.
Next month’s issue will feature Kukla’s ability and flexibility in delivering and managing the shipment of high-value en primeur wines.
