/ By TJ China Freight / Logistic

HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD FREIGHT FORWARDER?

When you engage the services of a freight forwarder for your global shipping and business needs, what you expect to enjoy is the relationships they already have with various carriers such as ocean liners, truck companies, airline carriers. You should also benefit from their intricate knowledge of how export and import work in different countries. Moreover, they will be able to smoothly handle customs clearances for your goods, and track the status of the shipment as it makes its way from the supplier/manufacturer to you.

What is a Freight Forwarder?

A freight forwarder is an agent or business within the international trade industry that handles the shipping and transport of goods from one part of the world to another either by land, sea, or air. They are involved in the process of getting goods from suppliers and manufacturers, storing them, and facilitating the transportation logistics to end-users and consumers or some other distribution point. For instance, if you wish to ship freight from China, your best bet will be to hire a China freight forwarder to help you handle the daunting and complicated process of moving your freight either through ocean shipping,air freight, road or rail transport, or some other means.

Tips on how to choose a good freight forwarder

Nowadays, there are so many agents offering freight forwarding services. So, it may be difficult to find the best freight forwarder for your business. To that end, here are tips on how to choose a good freight forwarder that’s perfect for you.

1. Do your homework and know what you need

The very first thing that will help you secure the services of the best freight forwarder that will move your goods across international supply chains and trade routes is to do your homework. This means knowing what exactly you need. Ask yourself what kind of freight you want to ship in terms of volume and size. You should not expect exactly the same procedure when shipping goods like automobiles when you’re shipping commodities like foodstuffs.

You would also have a preferred mode of transport you wish to use, so it’s good for you to figure that out before contacting a freight forwarder. Moreover, some goods are fragile and require special handling procedures while others don’t. So, for such special shipments like dangerous or hazardous goods, you would expect the shipping process to be slightly more complicated.

When you clearly identify all your internal requirements, then you will be prepared for the hunt for the right freight forwarder to make the process smooth.

2. Consider the freight forwarder’s experience and network

This is non-negotiable!

The years of experience that the freight forwarder you’re looking to hire has is very crucial to the success of your business relationship. If they’re experienced, that means that they would have dealt with different situations that come up during the shipping process.

Examples of common situations are cases of port shutdowns, strike action by dockworkers, customs issues, cargo rerouting, warehouse problems, etc.  Here is where TJ China Freight comes in with more than a decade of handling and promptly and effectively resolving international shipping and logistics situations for customers all over the world.

With experience also comes an expansive global reach and sustainable business relationships. This manifests through good connections with various suppliers, local handlers and experts, trucking companies, and agents at numerous destinations. That’s how you can be sure your DDP shipments, FBA shipments, or any other freight will be handled well when they arrive at the destination country.

3. Find out the services they offer

By now, you know your shipping needs. However, you don’t want just any freight forwarder with experience. Instead, you need the best freight forwarder that offers the services that will meet handle your shipping requirements. That’s why you have to confirm the services that the freight forwarder offers. These services can range from preparing import and export documents, booking shipping space from air and sea carriers, packing and storing shipments, customs clearance, freight consolidation, tracking shipments, insurance, and many more.

When you know the services that the freight forwarder provides, then you will know if they can make your international shipping process go smoothly.

4. Inquire about their permits, credentials, and certifications

Before shipments can be transported from one part of the world to another, the freight forwarder in charge of the logistics requires permits and documentation to show that they can handle the cargo. Your company may wish to ship sensitive products such as hazardous materials. To handle these shipments successfully, the freight forwarder will require special licenses. This is why you need to verify if the freight forwarder has these credentials. It will show that they have taken specialized and required training to do the job well.

Another important consideration is whether the freight forwarder is a member of reputable associations such as >WCA. To be a member of such bodies, freight forwarders are required to be financially stable, operationally efficient, have integrity, and pass many other strict vetting requirements. The best freight forwarder will always ensure they are part of such associations to stay in touch with the latest developments in the profession and remain relevant and valuable to customers.

5. What risk management procedures do they have in place?

It is not uncommon for problems to arise during the process of international shipping. There are lots of conditions that can destabilize the transportation of your cargo, whether at the origin, during transit, or at the destination country. So, it’s important for you to verify whether the freight forwarder has procedures in place to manage risks. Freight forwarders that are proactive are the best in handling any issues and proffering solutions to problems as they arise.

A common risk management procedure that you can ask about is cargo insurance. The insurance cover is valuable if anything happens to your shipment, whether it’s a case of loss, damage, or theft. Your mind will be more at ease during the entire shipping process if you know that you’re covered by insurance or any other valid risk management policy. Your freight forwarder should be your partner when there is a crisis.

6. What is their customer service like?

Good customer service is the backbone of any business! All the credentials, experience, network and connections in the world amounts to nothing if a freight forwarder does not treat their customers well.

Imagine going through the process of securing your shipments from the supplier or manufacturer only for you to be unable to reach the freight forwarder handling the logistics and transport. If you have inquiries about freight rate or any other issues related to international shipping and the freight forwarder takes forever to respond to your inquiries, would you be willing to do business with them? This is why it’s important to verify what the freight forwarder’s customer service looks like.  You can ask about who the contact person is, who to talk to when a problem arises, how you will be contacted, and also check the reviews from previous customers.

Because international shipping can be tricky, these details are important, which is why clear communication between you and your freight forwarder is very crucial to the success of the endeavor. Great customer service even extends beyond when your shipment arrives. TJ China Freight is a tested and trusted China freight forwarder that offers unbeatable service to all its customers.

What about pricing and rates?

You may be wondering by now why there was no mention of pricing and rates in the tips on how to choose the best freight forwarder for your international shipping needs. Yes. It was deliberately left out. Why? Because deciding which freight forwarder to hire based on price alone is misleading and often has dire consequences.

For example, going with a freight forwarder because they offer the lowest rates on a shipment may lead to you having to pay more on subsequent shipments. This is because the freight forwarder would want to make up for the low price that they offered initially. Another possibility is that such freight forwarder that’s offering a low rate may have hidden some charges in the terms and conditions. All in all, low prices are often linked to dishonest dealings. You don’t want to fall victim, do you?

What your main focus should be while you are in search of the best freight forwarder for your business is whether your professional shipping needs will be precisely and promptly met. This is not to say that price is not important. Rather, it should not be your deciding factor on who to choose.

How to ask for shipping rates from your freight forwarder

Now that you know what you need to do to hire the best freight forwarder to handle your shipments, you should know the details you require to get the accurate quote and shipping rates for your products. This will help you prepare adequately and also help the freight forwarder serve you well.

To request for a quote from TJ China Freight, the information required include:

1. Product name.

The name of the product is required. Also, is the product with or without battery? Is it magnetic? Is it liquid? Are they dangerous goods?

2. INCOTERMS or Terms of Sale.

Incoterms refer to your International Commercial Terms with the seller, supplier, manufacturer or factory. Are your incoterms EXW (Ex works), Free on Board (FOB), or Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF)?

3. Weight and Volume information.

If you have the goods packing lists, that’s the most preferred. Alternatively, you can send the gross weight and volume information of the shipment.

4. Address of the supplier or factory.

If your contract price term is EXW, then we have to arrange the pick up from your supplier or facotry, so the address of the supplier or factory will be needed for us to check the pick fee.

5. The destination address or port of destination.

For Express shipping or any type of door to door delivery, we will need your exact destination address and post code to check the exact cost, and for Air freight or any type of shipping to Port only, then your port information will be required.

6. Your preferred shipping method (air freight, express freight, sea freight, or train delivery).

The shipping cost is very different for the air freight, express freight, sea freight or train delivery, so pls let us know which shipping method do you prefer.

7. Your preferred time of delivery – how quickly do you want the shipment to be delivered.

If you don’t know what shipping way is more suitalbe for you, pls let us know your preferred time of delivery, we will try to recommend the best shipping method that can meet your demands.

TJ China Freight, your best freight forwarder in China

As a leading China freight forwarder that specializes in shipping goods from China to other parts of the world, TJ China Freight offers a broad range of freight services like express shipping, warehousing, drop shipping, FBA shipping, and many more. We partner with many reputable organizations such as DHL, UPS, Emirates, etc. to make sure your shipments arrive on time and in good condition. Contact us today for a quote and open the door to an amazing business relationship.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

Air Cargo Trends in a Pandemic World

Dominic Hyde, Vice President Crēdo On Demand at Peli BioThermal, discusses the developing trends in freight that have come about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous predications in pharmaceutical transportation trends, highlighting declining air passenger numbers and increasing air freight demand, have all been propelled by the pandemic. Coronavirus continues to cause worldwide disruption and is anticipated to impact industry throughout 2021 and beyond.

Pandemic response - preighters take off

Pre-pandemic passenger numbers were already on the downturn. However, the crisis has significantly accelerated that trend and the crisis capacity crunch came as the number of passenger flights plummeted. The ensuing scramble to transport pandemic payloads saw the deployment of hundreds of passenger planes as freighters, known as ‘preighters’.

Pioneering Portuguese charter operator Hi Fly led this trend, being the first to convert an A380 for freight by removing the majority of seats to provide more cargo capacity. Despite the sector seeing the grounding of hundreds of passenger planes, earlier than had been initially forecast, which led to a reduction in the availability of cargo space, we’ve seen more planes undergo such conversions.

However, the ongoing drastic downturn in travel means the loss of a lot of capacity in passenger aircraft, and while freighter aircraft are still present and working hard, fleet growth takes time, so there will be a slower response to replacing some of the capacity lost from the passenger side of the industry.

Large widebody aircraft – grounded or retired

Before COVID-19, it was predicted that airlines would cut flights from schedules, mothball larger aircraft, decline production options, and look to utilise smaller, more efficient aircraft – whether for environmental or economic reasons. All those decisions have now been massively accelerated. The forecast to park some of the larger, widebody aircraft has been brought forward significantly due to the COVID-19 crisis, and its ongoing impact has meant the majority of all 747 freighter aircraft have or are being retired. The A380, which Airbus had previously announced it would stop deliveries of in 2021, has also been retired across the board by numerous airlines.

Increasingly, airlines are grounding their A380s in favour of more modern, smaller jets that can fly more efficiently than their four-engine aviation counterparts.

What we will continue to see is a lot more interest in leaner aircraft, such as the A220, the Canadian Bombardier aircraft produced by Airbus in North America.

Sea change in modes of transport

There will be ongoing developments in the sea freight sector too, which has an estimated 17 million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) serviceable globally, of which six million containers are routinely turning and carrying freight.

Uncertainty in sea and air freight availability saw pharma companies initially ship everything they could, by any mode of transport available, to get it out to the markets. Following months of disruption, passenger airlines began loading aircraft with cargo in the lower decks and loose load cargo on the upper decks.

Whereas I was hoping things might be back to some kind of normality in March, I am now inclined to add another quarter to that. I now think there will be exacerbated sea freight and sea container availability issues throughout the first half of 2021.

Given the sea freight situation, we will continue to see the utilisation of air freight to transport pandemic payloads. When it comes to economics, without the passengers on the main deck is a much more expensive operational option. However, pharma customers are prepared to pay those premiums.

The volumetric efficiency on aircraft is critical at the moment because it is such a scarce resource. We need to ensure the best use is made of it. With air freight capacity a dwindling resource, it is even more important to have the efficient packing density of temperature-controlled products on such limited air freight resources.

Vaccines vs. virus - rapid response

In a rapid response to the logistical cold chain challenges involved, we have adapted our shippers to meet those requirements, as have other providers. There has been an impetus for innovation to support these temperatures in volume. Suppliers stepped up to meet the vaccine temperature challenges by adapting existing shipping solutions. The capacity is there, so I don’t anticipate it will be an issue going forward.

The focus is reverted back to the capacities in the transport modes and – given the nature of these drugs – people are paying whatever it costs to ship them, with rates rising sharply from $2.5 a kilo to $23 – although, that is starting to calm down.

Beyond the current vaccines being approved there will be the need to provide boosters. It is going to create a recurring step up in the volume of vaccines being shipped, alongside the flu vaccines being transported and other pharmaceutical payloads every year.

There will not be a continuous crisis. There will rather be a continuing trend for smaller aircraft with reduced air freight capacities moving pharmaceutical products at temperatures that sea freight cannot do. It really can only fly.

However, there’s not going to be a modal shift from air to sea because sea cannot meet the temperature requirements. You get a displacement, whereby COVID-19 shipments, whether vaccines, test kits and reagents, or some of the therapies which help with recuperation, are flying at almost any cost on a dwindling resource.

The pharmaceuticals, which have more normal temperature shipping requirements, get displaced. In that situation, when the air freight rates get so high, sea freight would normally be seen as a shipping solution.

However, with all of the sea freight challenges, coupled with the fact that their transportation rates have also doubled, there has been some displacement – although not as much as pharma companies would have liked, which is what has kept pushing the prices up in the region of the $23 a kilo figure for air freight we had seen previously in the market.

Sea freight will improve in the first six months of 2021, so some of that displacement can take place more efficiently. Aircraft, however, will still be loaded with COVID-19 related products.

2021 will see the industry learning to operate in ‘the new norm’. Next year, we might start to see some improvements and efficiencies, but I think this year is about adjusting our planning, our capacities and our operations around this spike in demand and the gradually improving capacity picture. Almost like wearing in a new pair of shoes.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

Do LCL operation skills, common problems in customs declaration

6 operating skills for LCL cargo

1. "Consolidate" is the English word for LCL, which is referred to as "consol" in international trade and transportation.

2. LCL cargo generally cannot accept the designation of a specific shipping company. The shipping company only accepts the booking of FCL cargo, and does not directly accept the booking of LCL cargo, only through freight forwarders (individual strong shipping companies through their logistics The company) can book the space with the shipping company after consolidating the LCL cargo. Almost all LCL cargoes are transported through the “centralized handling and centralized distribution” of the freight forwarding company. The LCL distribution ports in East China are basically It is the port of Shanghai. General freight forwarders can only book space from a few shipping companies due to the limitation of cargo sources, and they rarely meet the needs of designated shipping companies. Therefore, when transacting LCL cargo, try not to accept designated shipping companies to avoid consignment Time can not meet the requirements.

3. When negotiating transactions with customers, pay special attention to the relevant transportation terms, so as not to find out that the transportation terms cannot be met after the other party's letter of credit is issued. In our daily operations, we often encounter L/C regulations stipulating that LCL cargo transportation does not accept freight forwarders’ bills of lading. Because shipping companies do not directly accept LCL cargo bookings, shipping companies’ ocean bills of lading are issued to freight forwarders, and freight forwarders re Issuing HOUSEB/L to the shipper, if the L/C regulations do not accept freight forwarding B/L, there will be no choice when the actual transportation is handled, which will cause L/C inconsistency. Another example, when we handled the transportation, we found a consignment note stating: Goods must be shipped in container on LCL basis and Bill of Lading to evidence the same and to show that all LCL. handling charges, THC and delivery order charges at that port of discharges are prepaid. It can be seen from the original text of the above paragraph of L/C that the consignee has passed all the expenses that should have been borne by him to the consignor. This is because the consignor and the customer did not negotiate in detail on the terms of transport during the trade negotiation. To.

 

4. The billing tons of LCL cargo shall be accurate. Before delivery of LCL cargo, the factory should be required to measure the weight and size of the goods as accurately as possible. When the goods are delivered to the warehouse designated by the forwarder, the warehouse will generally re-measure, and the re-measured size and weight will be charged. standard. If the factory changes the packaging, the factory should be required to notify in time. Don’t wait for the goods to be delivered to the freight forwarder’s warehouse and feed back the information through the forwarder. Often time is already very tight. If you change the customs declaration documents, it is easy to delay customs declaration or incur expedited customs declaration fees. And port charges.

Do LCL operation skills, common problems in customs declaration!

 

5. In some ports, due to insufficient supply of LCL and high cost, freight forwarders specializing in LCL adopt the lowest charging standard for goods with a small volume. For example, the minimum is 2 freight tons, that is, less than 2 freight tons. All charges are based on 2 freight tons. Therefore, when the volume of cargo is small, some of these factors should be taken into consideration when the cargo is transacted at the port to avoid passiveness in the future.

 

6. For some routes and ports that are relatively remote, and customers propose to deliver LCL goods to inland points, it is best to consult before signing the transaction and confirm that there are shipping companies and freight forwarding companies that can handle these remote ports and inland points. Sign the contract after delivery and related expenses.

Summary of common problems in LCL customs declaration

The same foreign customer buys goods from different suppliers in China and then they are assembled into a cabinet and shipped to foreign customers. Sometimes two or three companies fight together, sometimes seven or eight companies fight together. In this case, it is usually a case of customs declaration. , To talk about common problems in customs declaration.

1. Customs declaration method-agent declaration and pay declaration

Because customers purchase from 3 or 4 different factories, some foreign customers find factories that do not have import and export rights for cheaper prices. Although the prices are cheap, they do not have customs declaration documents and need to pay for customs declaration. Therefore, at this time, there will be some agent declarations in the supplier, and some need to pay for customs declaration, especially for goods that require commodity inspection. Therefore, at this time, it is recommended that the goods with documents and the goods with documents are put together in a cabinet, and the goods that pay for customs declaration and pay for customs declaration are combined. Try not to have AB orders, some agents declare and some pay, that is, there are goods that need to be declared in a cabinet, and there are goods that need to be inspected but cannot be inspected and must be paid for declaration, because most ports do not support AB orders A few in the Pearl River Delta, such as Huangpu, Yantian, and Shekou, support AB orders.

 

2. Destination country

 

Some of the suppliers of the consolidation are required to declare customs for tax refunds, some do not require tax refunds for general trade small write-offs, and some require commodity inspections with customs clearance forms. At this time, we must pay attention to the customs declaration information of different suppliers. The destination country must be consistent.

 

There are often two situations. 1. The information to be refunded is more detailed, and the actual destination country is written, and the destination country for small verification of non-refundable tax is just typed. The destination country of the customs declaration data is different. 2. When going to Russia and waiting for some inland points, the unloading port is Poland, and the railway transfers to Russia. At this time, some of the customs declaration documents are written in Poland and some are written in Russia. Lead to inconsistent destination countries. At this time, the destination country Russia is always written, and Poland is only the port of discharge, not the final port of destination.

3. Value

 

When the cabinets are assembled, the value of each is different. For example, there are three stores A USD4W, B USD4W C, USD 3W

The value of the respective goods does not exceed 10W, and each does not need special export invoices, but because the total value of the goods exceeds 10W or 8W (depending on the port), some ports need to provide value-added tax invoices. I don’t understand the value of other factories. Sometimes the value-added tax invoice may not be mailed.

 

When the cabinets are assembled, the value of each is different. For example, there are three stores A USD14W, B USD4W C, USD 3W

The total value of the goods exceeds 10W US dollars. As A himself exceeds 10W, A also needs to provide special export invoices. Others only provide value-added tax invoices.

 

Fourth, the number of LCL

Generally speaking, the number of cabinets assembled will not exceed 8 pieces. In some places, it is 4 pieces. If a supplier purchases from more than a dozen factories, just a dozen factories have customs declaration materials, and this time it will be more than a dozen. Customs declaration materials are combined together for customs declaration. Generally, the customs support no more than 8 fights.

Five, the difference between tax refund and non-refund

There are three suppliers, two of which require tax refunds, and one does not require tax refunds. The total value of the goods exceeds 10W. Previously, only two factories that needed tax refunds would provide value-added tax invoices and special export invoices. Now, on the original basis, they also need non-tax refundable factories to provide Special export invoice.

Sixth, the issue of door closure

As there are more goods, to prevent confusion during customs declaration and inspection, it is best to remember what goods are loaded at the door of the cabinet.

Seven, put together a few cabinets

 

Sometimes the supplier has more goods and may have to install 2 cabinets.

1. At this time, pay attention to loading the goods of the same company in one container, don't pack A in several squares and B in several squares. If you are not satisfied, you must install two containers separately, and make one more copy of the customs declaration information.

2. Commodity inspection needs to correspond, such as ABC three, A has 70 cubic meters, B has 18 cubic meters, and C has 8 cubic meters. The large cabinet has 50 cubic meters for the A family, 18 cubic meters for the B family, 20 cubic meters for the A family and 8 cubic meters for the C family. When doing commodity inspection, A must do two commodity inspections.

3. Even the counter or separate reports. One of the cabinets was checked during customs declaration, but the other was not checked. Because the cabinets were connected, both cabinets could not be boarded. When reporting separately, those who are inspected will continue to check and wait for the next water, and those who are released can board the ship.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

“When the pressure on the maritime supply chain can be eased, no one can say”

In the past two months, the cost of transporting goods from China to Europe has more than quadrupled, hitting a record high, due to the pandemic disrupting global trade and the shortage of empty containers.

 

Data from shippers and importers show that the freight for transporting a 40-foot container from Asia to Northern Europe has risen from approximately US$2,000 in November last year to more than US$9,000.

Lars Jensen, CEO of maritime consulting company SeaIntelligence, said that the reason for the increase in freight rates is the market's competition for limited resources-containers.

 

In the first half of 2020, due to a sudden slowdown in global trade due to the epidemic blockade, shipping companies have suspended large-scale shipping and thousands of empty containers are stranded in Europe and the United States. In the second half of the year, when Western countries' demand for Asian-made goods rebounded, competition among shippers for available containers pushed up freight rates.

 

John Butler, Chairman of the World Shipping Council, said, "The freight volume has dropped from a sharp decline to soaring to the highest level in history, and the effective handling capacity of the terminal has exceeded the upper limit."

 

He added that the congestion in the port has caused freight rates to rise, and shipping companies charge additional fees to compensate for the longer waiting time.

 

 

"When the pressure on the maritime supply chain can be eased, no one can say"

 

 

British freight forwarding company Edge Worldwide CEO Philip Edge said that some shipping companies charge US$12,000 per container, much higher than the US$2,000 in October last year.

 

The British Household Electrical Appliance Manufacturers Association stated in a statement, “According to member companies’ disclosures, shipping costs have increased by more than 300% since 2020. Especially for some commodities, the increase in shipping costs has exceeded the net increase Profit. Therefore, these costs will have to be passed on to the end user."

 

The owner of a leisure goods importer in Manchester said that the shortage of containers is having a “huge impact” on his business, and some orders placed in November are still waiting to be shipped. "The question is, is it to pay $12,000 now and pass the cost on to the customer, or to wait at the risk of exhausting inventory?"

 

Economists say that such interruptions and delays are beginning to affect global supply chains. Neil Shearing, chief economist at Capital Economics, said that "transportation pressure is accumulating and may increase further."

 

A recent survey by IHS Markit found that in December last year, the delivery time of manufacturing suppliers in the Eurozone reached the worst level since the peak of the pandemic lockdown in April. Shipping delays and general commodity shortages were "widely mentioned" by suppliers. .

 

 

"When the pressure on the maritime supply chain can be eased, no one can say"

 

 

The companies surveyed stated that they are consuming inventory of raw materials and semi-finished products, resulting in a decline in inventory.

 

Bert Colijn, senior economist at ING, said that "supply shortages and rising freight rates may slightly curb trade growth."

 

On the occasion of the Chinese New Year in February, the Asian manufacturing industry slowed down. Shipping companies hope to use this time to solve the problem of increasing backlog orders, which will temporarily cool freight rates.

 

However, BIMCO chief shipping analyst Peter Sand said that the shortage of containers may continue for a long time in 2021. Although the shipping company has ordered new containers, in his opinion, such a move is "too small and too late."

 

Lars Jensen also believes that although freight rates may drop slightly, "there are still a lot of goods waiting to be transported."

 

John Butler pointed out that only when epidemic-related restrictions are reduced and people have more diverse service choices, the pressure on the maritime supply chain can be alleviated, but no one can say when it can be improved.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

How to explain to customers in English that the epidemic in China is conllabltroe and can place orders with confidence?

In 2020, the new crown pneumonia virus has swept the world, and people are shrouded in the haze of the epidemic. However, with the advent of the New Year, the epidemic has not eased, but has worsened in many countries. It can be seen that the global anti-epidemic situation is extremely severe.

Current situation in China

The most severely affected area in China is Hebei Province. As of 24:00 on January 11, 2021, Shijiazhuang and Xingtai have screened a total of 364 positive cases.

 

How to explain to customers in English that the epidemic in China is controllable and can place orders with confidence?

 

 

How to explain to customers in English that the epidemic in China is controllable and can place orders with confidence?

 

 

Regarding the epidemic in Shijiazhuang, Zhang Wenhong, a well-known Chinese expert, said about the epidemic in Shijiazhuang: The recent epidemic in Shijiazhuang has obvious clustering characteristics, and it can be controlled within a few weeks or a month before it reaches the stage of dispersion. We are confident about this.

With the approach of China's most important Spring Festival, many people worry that the epidemic will affect Chinese suppliers. Will it have an impact?

Industry insiders indicated that unless we see other major epidemics in mainland China, we can expect most factories to produce normally. It must also be mentioned that the Chinese government has introduced a series of measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic.

• Epidemic prevention measure 1: vaccination

 

How to explain to customers in English that the epidemic in China is controllable and can place orders with confidence?

 

 

How to explain to customers in English that the epidemic in China is controllable and can place orders with confidence?

According to reports, as more and more new crown vaccines around the world are approved, experts predict that the new crown epidemic will improve or be brought under control. The good news is that China's State Food and Drug Administration has approved three new coronavirus inactivated vaccines for the market, which will mean that domestic large-scale vaccination may begin quickly.

According to the national plan, the new crown vaccination plan will be divided into two steps. The first step is to vaccinate key populations, including: staff engaged in import cold chain, port quarantine, ship piloting, aviation air service, fresh food market, public transportation, medical disease control and other high risk of infection, and going to medium and high risk countries or regions People who go to work and study.

The second step is to achieve gradual universal vaccination. Based on the vaccination of high-risk groups and key groups that has been carried out and is being carried out, my country will gradually and orderly promote the vaccination of the elderly and high-risk groups with underlying diseases, and follow-up vaccination for the general population.

There may be differences in the specific plans for appointment vaccination between provinces. For example, according to the Weibo news of “Sichuan Release”, the first vaccination of key populations is expected to be completed before January 15 and all doses will be completed before February 5. Times of vaccination.

In this regard, you can explain to the customer like this:

China has begun a nationwide drive to vaccinate some 50 million front-line workers against the coronavirus before the Lunar New Year travel rush next month.

Before the peak of the Spring Festival travel season next month, China has begun to promote the anti-coronavirus vaccine for nearly 50 million priority people nationwide .

China has officially started vaccination to high-risk population since December 15, 2020, and the Chinese authorities said it has administered 9 million doses around the country, proving that the Chinese vaccines are safe. It is expected that China is highly likely to ensure a domestic vaccines capacity of more than 2 billion doses in 2021 to meet the target of at least 70 percent of Chinese get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity.

Since December 15, 2020, China has officially begun to vaccinate high-risk groups. Chinese authorities have stated that 9 million doses of vaccine have been vaccinated nationwide and these vaccines are safe. In addition, China is likely to ensure that its domestic vaccination capacity exceeds 2 billion doses in 2021, so that at least 70% of Chinese people will be vaccinated to achieve the goal of herd immunity.

In addition to vaccines, the Chinese government this year also encouraged migrant workers to "unnecessarily not return to their hometowns and celebrate the New Year on the spot." 

• Epidemic prevention measures 2: Call for the New Year on the spot

 

How to explain to customers in English that the epidemic in China is controllable and can place orders with confidence?

 

 

How to explain to customers in English that the epidemic in China is controllable and can place orders with confidence?

 

 

As the Chinese New Year (February 12 this year) is approaching, many people who work abroad are ready to return to their hometown for the holiday. Zhu Wenzhong, deputy director of the passenger transportation department of China National Railway Group, said that during the "Spring Festival" period from January 28 to March 8 this year, 407 million trips are expected, which will be 93% higher than last year (because of the outbreak in Wuhan last year) Interrupt).

In addition, due to the fact that the local epidemic situation in my country is spreading at multiple points and local clusters are intertwined and superimposed. The State Council's Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism Comprehensive Team recently issued the "Notice on Doing a Good Job in the Prevention and Control of the New Coronary Pneumonia Epidemic During the New Year's Day and Spring Festival of 2021", pointing out that migrant workers should be guided to stay at the construction site for the New Year when conditions permit. Beijing, Shanghai, Anhui, Henan, Shandong and many other places have recently issued recommendations not to return to their hometown if they are not necessary during the Spring Festival, encourage flexible vacations, and advocate non-necessary not to leave their work place and celebrate the holidays locally.

At present, many local governments have issued notices calling on people to stay at work to prevent the spread of the virus, and the China National Railway Corporation announced that any train tickets booked before January 7, 2021 can be refunded.

In this regard, you can explain to the customer like this:

China's cabinet has also urged employers to be flexible about this year's Lunar New Year break. "In a bid to prevent transmission and control the pandemic, we encourage companies and enterprises to make flexible arrangements for the holiday and guide employees to spend the vacation in the area where they work," the State Council said in a notice recently.

The State Council of China also recently issued a notice stating that it encourages business owners to implement flexible vacations, and advocates not leaving their work place if necessary and spending holidays on the spot.

Many local governments have issued notices this week calling on people to stay home to prevent the spread of the virus, prompting China State Railway to announce that any train tickets booked before Jan.7th could be refunded.

Many local governments have issued notices this week calling on people to stay at home to prevent the spread of the virus, prompting the China National Railway Corporation to announce that any train tickets booked before January 7 can be refunded.

So, in addition to telling customers the latest information about the epidemic in China and related measures, what do foreigners need to do? That is: take advantage of the situation to remind orders.

•Use the opportunity to remind orders

According to a report by Global.com, due to the approaching Chinese New Year, companies from various European countries have recently imported Chinese goods on a large scale. They said: When the Chinese have a rest for the Spring Festival, we will not be able to buy anything even if we have money! It is worth mentioning that most of the sudden increase in orders are medical items related to epidemic prevention.

In addition, the German weekly "Der Spiegel" recently reported that as the Chinese New Year is approaching, European traders are beginning to worry about the suspension of production in Chinese factories, the bottleneck in logistics, and the continued increase in prices, and they are speeding up the booking of Chinese defense products.

Faced with such a situation, the People's Congress of Foreign Trade can take advantage of this situation to urge orders. Generally speaking, before the Spring Festival, we will send notices to our customers to inform them of the time when the factory will stop production and the time to start work after the year, so that customers can be prepared. However, this year’s situation is special. Due to the impact of the epidemic, the delivery time is longer than before, so we can advise customers to arrange their orders in advance.

In this regard, we can say this:

The delivery date might be longer, so we suggest you placing order at an earlier date, then we can occupy the production line for you and deliver goods at an earlier time. In addition, you can grab the market share earlier. Now we are still receiving orders every day, if you have pending orders, please hurry up.

Due to the impact of the epidemic, the delivery time is longer than before, so it is recommended that you place an order in advance. So we can help you arrange production as soon as possible and deliver as soon as possible. After you receive the goods as soon as possible, you can occupy the market share in advance. In addition, many customers are placing orders now, so if you have a demand, please place an order as soon as possible.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

The shipping industry is facing the hot market, “crazy boxes” one price a day!

The shipping industry in 2020 can be said to be half winter and half summer.

Affected by the epidemic, China's exports declined in the first half of the year, and the shipping industry was cold and "overwintering" ahead of schedule. In the second half of the year, the neglected shipping industry directly entered the "midsummer." As the epidemic situation in China stabilizes and the economy recovers steadily, goods from all countries are transferred from Chinese ports. For a time, China's shipping industry is showing a busy scene.

“It’s too difficult to order containers now!” A reporter from the Securities Daily could see vehicles transporting containers coming and going at the Shanghai port. A foreign trade official who did not want to be named told the reporter: “At present, I want to order a container. The price can be said to be one price per day. Not only that, even if the container is booked, I still have to worry about the availability of the cabin."

 

The shipping industry is facing the hot market, "crazy boxes" one price a day!

 

 

"Shanghai SIPG, Ningbo, and Shenzhen are all major ports in the world. In 2018 and 2019, the container throughput of Shanghai Port was ranked first. Recently, the container shipping market is very hot, and many boxes cannot be returned after they go out." People from listed companies commented on the reporter of "Securities Daily".

In this regard, Liu Wang, chairman of Shanghai Tianhui International Logistics Co., Ltd., told reporters: “The price of container transportation has been rising. Because shipping companies have fewer ships, they often suspend voyages, and the lack of boxes is common, even if the price increases. It cannot fundamentally solve the problem of missing boxes."

• One price a day, "boxes" are crazy

"The most exaggerated time in the past 10 years." Speaking of the current shipping industry, Ms. Xie, who is engaged in the foreign trade industry, told a reporter from the Securities Daily. Ms. Xie is mainly responsible for the freight of Guangzhou Nansha Port and Shenzhen Port. She told reporters that taking a 40-foot container as an example, the highest sea freight to the Middle East at this time last year was about US$3,000. It costs almost US$5,000 now. Last year, it was US$2,800 to US$3,200 to Europe, and now it is US$6,000 to US$7,000. This year, the freight is almost twice the same period last year.

By the end of the year, the lack of positions became a true portrayal of the operation industry.

“Nowadays, there is a shortage of containers and high freight rates. The supply exceeds demand. During the epidemic, there was a large backlog of foreign containers that could not be arranged for delivery, and no one carried the goods. Almost all customers were looting containers. Under current market conditions, there are few freight forwarders. When looking for new customers, they are basically priority old customers.” Ms. Xie told reporters that the new year is approaching, and major suppliers are fully shipping. It is expected that the shortage of containers will continue.

 

The shipping industry is facing the hot market, "crazy boxes" one price a day!

 

 

"First of all you have to have a position, then you have to line up the truck to get the container, and finally you have to wait for the port to open before you can enter the port. Every day, you have to go through five hurdles, and you have to face customer soul torture. It's late, can't you figure it out?" A shipping forwarder complained about the tightness of the current export containers.

Liu Wang revealed to the "Securities Daily" reporter: "Many forwarders who have no boxes sometimes look for scalpers. Now forwarders are looting positions. The positions have to be booked in advance. Many people robbed and reselled them. In the past, they did not lose their shipping fees. Now that the shipping companies are recovering their losses, the shipping companies are about to usher in a wave of market conditions this year. After the merger and reorganization last year, it is estimated that all the money lost in the past will be made back this year."

Liu Wang said: “In the past Christmas and the Spring Festival, there will be a wave of liquidation market, this year is particularly fierce because of the epidemic. South American container boxes were the lowest in history at 50 US dollars a small container, and now basically it costs more than 5,000 US dollars, and a large box 10,000. U.S. dollars, if $5,000 this week is too expensive for you, you may not be able to order $6,000 next week, basically one price a week."

In fact, the current container price has been upgraded to a daily basis. A person in charge of an international logistics company said: “In Qingdao Port, the price of a second-hand 40-foot container in previous years was about US$2,000. On November 27 this year, the price rose to US$2,850; by November 30, the price of a second-hand container rose to US$3,200. ; On December 3, it rose to 3,400 US dollars again, almost one day."

According to data from the freight benchmark company Xeneta, the current average price of short-term market contracts in Asia and Europe for three months or less is 200% higher than a year ago, at $4,831 per 40 feet. But from the same period last year, freight rates across Southeast Asia have increased by an astonishing 390.5%.

The relevant person in charge of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings told reporters: “As the volume of goods continues to rise, the demand for export containers has greatly increased, and the domestic guarantee for container use has become tighter. However, the turnover of overseas empty containers has generally slowed due to the continuous impact of the epidemic situation in various places. Transfer back to China to meet demand."

"The whole industry is looking for boxes everywhere, and some merchants are beginning to hoard boxes to speculate on prices." In the eyes of industry insiders, the current situation of foreign trade companies being difficult to find a box is not only because of the slow operation of containers, but also because of the reduction of some routes. .

"There are few ship lines, and most of the cabinets shipped abroad can't return. This is the root cause of the skyrocketing price of the domestic container transportation market." Liu Wang explained to the reporter: "It's not that foreign cabinets are not coming back. It is the epidemic situation abroad. The impact is that the workers do not go to work and the speed of transportation is relatively slow. Now everyone is sharing the warehouse."

According to Liu Wang, the container ships now and the alliance has been formed since last year. Originally, it used its own ships to transport the goods. Now four or five shipowners or five or six companies form an alliance, and use the same ship. warehouse. "It turns out that there may be several shipping companies arranging several shifts to go to sea in a week. Once we formed an alliance, the shifts decreased in a week. This started last year. Now shipping companies often stop once a week, which objectively leads to a shortage of ships. ."

A person in charge of the Shanghai Maritime Logistics Company introduced to a reporter from the Securities Daily: "At present, the proportion of import and export trade by sea is imbalanced. There are few boxes coming in and many boxes going out . In addition, China has quickly prevented and controlled the epidemic, and overseas orders have continued to surge. , Increasing the pressure on shipping. Overseas, affected by the epidemic, the operation cycle of containers shipped out due to business environment problems has been lengthened, the arrival process has increased, and the operation efficiency has slowed and lengthened the circulation cycle. Due to the early outbreak of the epidemic, major shipping The company has reduced many routes, resulting in uneven distribution of global container volumes."

 

The shipping industry is facing the hot market, "crazy boxes" one price a day!

 

 

The industry believes that with the increase in market demand, the current effective capacity is obviously insufficient.

The relevant person in charge of COSCO Shipping Holdings revealed to the reporter: "As the global epidemic prevention and control has become normalized, global trade has been rapidly repaired since the third quarter of this year, and the demand in the container shipping market has recovered beyond expectations. In order to meet the growth of transportation demand, market capacity has gradually returned to normal. , The idle capacity has dropped rapidly from the record high of more than 2.7 million TEU (international standard unit units) in May this year. At present , there is no airworthy effective capacity to rent in the market. "

In the context of uneven global container deployment, container prices on different routes have also risen at different rates.

"Since November, the price of the U.S. line has increased by about four times compared with the beginning of the year, and the European line has risen to the highest price last year. From the perspective of the distribution of China’s export routes, the U.S. container accounts for 25%, Europe accounts for 25%, and Southeast Asia , Northeast Asia adds up to 50%, the US route is now hard to find a box is the norm, followed by the European route, freight is also very tight. The price of Malaysia route in Southeast Asia has also doubled recently." The person in charge of the aforementioned logistics company added.

Facing the increase in demand for containers, the above-mentioned relevant person in charge of COSCO SHIPPING Holdings stated: “The company will strengthen scientific forecasts for container use, actively coordinate dual-brand superior resources, and make every effort to guarantee the use of containers during peak seasons. On the one hand, internally tap the potential and accelerate overseas heavy container Demolition speed, increase empty container callback domestic and Far East efforts to promote container turnover; on the other hand, close communication with container manufacturers and container leasing companies to seek more container sources. Through two-pronged and multiple measures, to guarantee domestic container use Provide effective assistance and try our best to meet the shipping needs of customers."

In order to meet the development needs of the container market, SIPG has launched a number of effective measures to promote container volume growth in response to the market. At the beginning of this year, the Group launched seven special measures for container growth, through the implementation of preferential international transit loading and unloading fees, extension of the international transit container storage exemption period, and sea-rail intermodal customs clearance container preferential projects. In the first half of the year, the Group established three major container areas: Yangshan, Outer Harbor, and Domestic Trade, striving to achieve overall planning and agglomeration effects.

According to SIPG’s official announcement, in October, each terminal of Shanghai Port set a new record. The monthly throughput of Shengdong Company exceeded 820,000 TEUs for the first time. Among them, 33068 TEUs and 12899.75 TEUs were updated on October 25. Class record; Guandong Company broke through 720,000 TEU, setting a new record again.

• How long can the "shortage of containers" last? What is the future prospect of the shipping industry? 

"The first half of the year was affected by the new crown epidemic. Ports and shipping fields did suffer a relatively large negative impact, so the first half of the year was basically a negative growth state. In the second half of the year, especially after the third quarter, normal operations resumed to a certain extent, plus China The epidemic has been controlled to a certain extent, and most of the economic activities have been resumed first. Therefore, compared with the first half of the year, there is indeed a big sign of a bottoming out." said Liu Dian, a research assistant at the Chongyang Institute of Finance of Renmin University of China.

In the first two months of this year, my country's foreign trade imports and exports dropped significantly. According to China Customs data, from January to February 2020, my country's total import and export value of goods trade was 4.12 trillion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 9.6%. Among them, exports were 2.04 trillion yuan, down 15.9%; imports were 2.08 trillion yuan, down 2.4%.

Although the current domestic epidemic situation is under control, the global epidemic is breaking out, and exports are still under certain impact.

It can be said that in the first half of this year, people in the shipping industry were mainly pessimistic about my country's export prospects. In the second half of the year, the industry was generally optimistic about the future development of the shipping industry.

The shipping industry is facing the hot market, "crazy boxes" one price a day!

Insiders analyzed to the "Securities Daily" reporter that this round of container freight price increases began in the middle of this year. At that time, after the domestic epidemic was brought under control, foreign countries were greatly affected by the epidemic, and many overseas orders were transferred to the domestic market. When shipping from China, the shipping price began to rise. According to Liu Wang's prediction, this round of price increases will continue until the first quarter of next year.

An unnamed person in charge of maritime logistics said: "As the epidemic stabilizes, this hot market will continue into the first half of next year, or even longer."

"This wave of increase in container shipping prices has driven the adjustment of the entire foreign trade sector, breaking the laws of the past decades in the industry. Not only ocean freight, air freight and land transportation have different levels of influence and changes. The epidemic has accelerated the entire large trade sector. The consolidation and adjustment of the shipping sector will gradually move towards intensive development. Shipping companies have become monopolistic after years of integration and mergers. The aviation sector and the land transport sector are also rapidly integrated, and a new chapter will emerge in the future foreign trade field." People say so.

According to Huang Tianhua, chairman of the China Container Industry Association and vice president of CIMC, predicted that the shortage of containers may continue for about six months . He said: "We have monitored that if there are 500,000 new containers in China normally, they are in a completely healthy state if they are ready for use in the docks or ports, but the current tighter inventory is about 300,000 new containers. I expect it to be possible. In the next three months to six months, this slightly tense balance will continue. This is probably a trend in the current industry."

Although the industry is generally optimistic about the shipping industry, Liu Dian believes that the total global trade volume in 2020 will still drop a certain percentage from the previous year, but from the perspective of the shipping industry, it will definitely be from the third quarter to the fourth quarter. There will be a better market.

Liu Dian said: “Affected by the epidemic in the first half of the year, the uncertainties slowed down in the second half of the year, and the overall trend showed a relatively large rebound. Therefore, from a macro perspective, global international trade has rebounded to a certain extent. China is the first to resume the rebound led by the next."

" At present, the shipping industry is mainly affected by three factors :

Di Yi factor is that the global economy is expected to have a recovery, so after the third quarter, international trade has been warmer, led the field of shipping industry as a whole for the better, whether it is from container or just have some trade from the sea to pick up case .

The second factor is that with the signing of the RCEP agreement, a series of regional economic integration cooperation relations in East Asia and Southeast Asia will improve, which will benefit the import and export trade of China and related countries.

The third factor is that although the epidemic has not been eliminated on a global scale, all countries are in short supply, such as medical supplies, production supplies, and living supplies. China is now the world's largest trade surplus country. Under such circumstances, China's export trade, including part of its import trade, will also get a relatively large rebound in demand, and at the same time promote the rise of a series of shipping-related industry indexes in related fields, including the container shipping index. "Liu Dian said.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

The monthly volume of 300 boxes has been reduced to 3, and the shipping company has suspended the delivery of American agricultural products and is warned by the FMC investigation

The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) threatened to use all its possible powers to overturn the decision of international shipping companies to abandon the export of American agricultural products and relocate empty containers instead.

The shortage of containers and market forces have caused some shipping companies to cut the container quotas of traditional American exporters to alleviate some serious problems in the supply chain. This has had a huge impact on US agricultural exports. Reports say that some cargo owners’ quotas have been reduced from 300 containers per month to three.

Under the vigorous lobbying of the U.S. Agricultural Transportation Union and its partners, FMC announced that it would investigate these measures.

 

"Some shipping companies have already stated that they will no longer deploy empty containers to inland agricultural areas of the United States. Instead, they are speeding up the delivery of empty containers back to Asia." FMC Chairman Michael Khouri said at the Global Maritime Conference.

"This approach is to keep U.S. agricultural exports out of the global market. We are investigating and possible response measures, including reviewing whether the actions of these shipping companies are in full compliance with the Shipping Act, and more specifically, the Act. "Prohibited Acts" clauses in the "Prohibited Acts"," he said. 

At the end of October, the shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has decided to suspend export bookings for soybeans and other agricultural products from the United States in order to return empty containers to Asia to load imported goods from the United States instead of shipping containers to the inland United States.

 

Earlier this month, the Special Soybean and Grain Alliance (SSGA), a US agricultural transportation organization, stated that the lack of containers and its members’ inability to load exported goods is prompting Asian customers to investigate other food buyers.

SSGA Executive Director Eric Wenberg said: "Our members have heard from Asian customers that they doubt that the United States and its agricultural exporters will continue to be reliable suppliers based on the difficulties of today's multimodal transportation."

"Marine shipping companies need to work with us to solve these transportation problems and ship our goods back to Asian ports. Otherwise, the United States has been a reputation for exporting high-quality food to foreign customers and we must take action." He added.

/ By TJ China Freight / Shipping

Where did the empty containers go?

In the past few months, due to the severe shortage of available empty containers, the global supply chain has been hit, causing exporters to have a headache. However, new research shows that there is an obvious problem in the container supply chain-empty containers stay in warehouses for an average of 45 days, while in China, the average time for each idle container is more than two months.

The research project of German company FraunhoferCML and Container xChange shows that although China and the United States urgently need containers, the average residence time of empty containers in warehouses is 61-66 days, which is much higher than the global average of 45 days.

 

The east coast of the United States is usually the location of surplus container equipment (the 40DC container availability value was 0.7 last year), but the container availability rate dropped to 0.43, indicating that there are actually fewer containers than needed.

The researchers said that compared with the Middle East (21 days on average) and Europe (23 days on average), the high standard deviations of 85 days in North America and 129 days in Asia indicate that in many cases, containers stay in warehouses longer than average. Much more.

 

Container xChange is a platform that connects users and suppliers. The platform stated that the availability of containers across China is still at a record low, while the surge in shipping containers from Asia has overwhelmed US ports, and retailers are eager to put their products on the shelves.

Not only is there a serious shortage of 40-foot tall containers (hc) in the shipping market, but there is also a shortage of 40-foot standard containers, and even 20-foot containers are sometimes in short supply.

The container availability rate of 40HCs is only 0.05 CAx (container availability rate) points, compared with 0.63 in the same period last year.

Asia's container manufacturing industry is working overtime to produce, which accounts for 45% of the global container manufacturing market. China International Marine Containers, the world's largest container manufacturer, announced an increase in its orders.

The factory is stepping up container building, and container orders have been scheduled to the first quarter of next year. Even so, the demand for millions of containers has made it impossible for container manufacturing to quench its thirst. The world's three largest container leasing giants have issued a warning that the shortage of containers will continue for four months.

 

Chinese shippers and freight forwarders all over the world "seeking" empty containers, but where did the empty containers go? The answer is simple, it is blocked in other ports.

While the Asian port and shipping industry is desperately desperate for empty containers, although there is a shortage of shipping capacity, price increases can be used to push shipping companies to cancel suspending, refilling, and increase shipping capacity; however, a large number of containers full of cargo are seriously stranded in European and American ports and warehouses. , Unable to move.

In order to alleviate the serious imbalance in equipment, shipping companies have adopted an active strategy for exports to Europe and the United States, suspending orders, and preferring to use as many empty containers as possible to fill return ships.

In fact, in order to prevent all but the most expensive goods, European exporters to Asia are required to pay more than $5,000 per 40-foot container to ensure shipment in December. A British freight forwarder said that many shipping companies now refuse to accept export orders before mid-January. "Our customers are willing to pay such a high freight, but due to port congestion, we are still working hard to get the boxes away. Some boxes have been on the dock for more than four weeks and still don't know when they will be shipped."

At the same time, the urgently needed empty containers in Asia are scattered in warehouses across Europe, especially in the United Kingdom, where troubled ports have to restrict container delivery to already overcrowded terminals.

The current shortage of containers is a once-in-a-century problem in the history of the global supply chain, and it is basically unsolvable in the short term.