Christmas Closures 

As everyone is looking to close down over the Christmas and New Year period, please remember the following important points regarding your shipments during this time,

Documentation for imports
Its vitally important that we are provided with paperwork needed for any import shipments that are due to arrive in late December and early January, so that we can arrange the clearance and manage the shipment while you’re closed. Otherwise extensive storage and or detention charges could be incurred.

Cash flow
Unfortunately we only have limited financial resources and to avoid having your shipment delayed and possible additional charges incurred, we would kindly request that any invoices falling due over this period be paid prior to your closing for Christmas.   

Shipments arriving over Christmas and the New Year
Please note that as vessels continue to be delayed and arrive late, many shipments that were planned to arrive in early December are now not arriving until late December or early January. Unfortunately, there’s not much that anyone can do about this, as shipping is still very difficult and unpredictable. Overseas Port congestion, causes a ripple effect of late arrival times at the next port of call. In some instances, the delays may lead shipping lines to omit some scheduled ports, to avoid further delays. Therefore, please be aware that you may have shipments arriving while you’re closed, and you may need to look at making any possible contingency plans for deliveries during this time to try and avoid very expensive storage and detention charges that may be applicable.

Free Trade Agreement Update

The UK Free Trade Agreement is still being worked on and there’s no date in place as yet for when this might come into effect, but we have heard whispers, it could be late February/March 2023.

The India Free Trade Agreement has been signed off on and this is set to commence from the 29th December with further reductions coming in on the 1st Jan.
At this stage it appears that most items from India will be duty free, but there are several exceptions and please check with your usual contact at CFL if you need more information on this matter.

Shipping Update

The shipping situation around the world has slowed down considerably and there’s now plenty of space and equipment available on most services with bookings usually being able to depart on the next sailing. The Europe direct service is still fairly full and rates have only come down marginally on this service, but the cost for the transhipment service has reduced much more and the service is currently working well with most transhipment ports being quieter than normal. The good news is that the freight rates from China and some other areas in Asia like Vietnam have continued to fall over the past few months with current rates already down around the pre COVID rate levels. But as a result of these rate reductions, the carriers are looking to implement blank sailings and reduce services and also slow down vessels down to try and keep up demand for space, but so far none of these actions have had any impact on freight costs as yet. The situation with the USA is still difficult though, with delays being incurred in getting bookings with most carriers and there’s still also many issues with the landside operations in the USA, which is also causing further delays in moving cargo.

While the container shipping situation is improving around the world with vessels and equipment being readily available and with rates going down, the situation with breakbulk and car carriers is quite the opposite with these vessels being fully booked for months in advance and with no signs of any rate reductions in the near future.

FCL exports from Australia are also still difficult with most vessels fully booked with agricultural export cargo and with rates still higher than normal, but this situation is also slowly starting to ease as global shipping slows down.

Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Season (BMSB)

BMSB season is adding to the challenge of co-ordinating overseas fumigations with departing vessel cut off dates.  We have noticed an increase in containers (particularly from USA) that require fumigation in Australia, as they ran out of time for BMSB treatment overseas.  This has led to additional fumigation volumes in Australia, that can add an extra week to your delivery times and can result in shipping line detention costs.    

We hope this above information is of some benefit to you and please contact your usual CFL contact if you need any further details regarding your shipments

Merry Christmas

Lastly, the staff of Commercial Freight and Logistics would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families all the very best for the festive season and we hope you have a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year.