It was started by CMA, Hanjin follows suit as they obviously encounter the same problems!

Here their announcement:

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Due to barge congestion at the Port of Rotterdam a

congestion surcharge (CGS) of EUR 18.00

will be charged per container (full /empty) for all barge transportation to/from the Port of Rotterdam (NLRTM) as from August 1st, 2014.
(Scope: All trades and bounds)

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Our partner Allseas is proud to announce the launch of their airfreight division!

OL congratulates!

Read here:

Allseas new airfreight division

We are reading the following information in the Dynaliners news:

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Maersk Line plans to group its intra‐Americas business into a separate enterprise, adopting the famous SeaLand brand. As from 1 January 2015, the new company will assume responsibility for all Maersk Line’s businesses in North, Central and South America.

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On June 12th, we reported in our news here that Evergreen would start a congestion surcharge for Rotterdam as an additional to the seafreight, if they deemed it to be necessary after July 9th. This did not happen yet, however:

Today, CMA- CGM announces a surcharge for barge inland moves under carrier haulage as follows:

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Dear Customers,
in the port of Rotterdam we are more & more faced with serious delays in the barge handling at the deepsea terminals, especially at ECT & Euromax.
Waiting times can go up from 2 to 5 calendar days.

 
In many cases closing times have been missed, as there are hardly any alternatives available. As a consequence, the barge operators are gradually introducing a congestion surcharge, which will be billed to their contractors (freight forwarders, shipping lines, direct customers).

 
We hereby want to inform you that as from August 1st 2014, CMA CGM will apply a congestion surcharge for all carrier haulage barge shipments to/from Rotterdam:

 
EUR 15 per container

 
Various articles on this subject have meantime been published in a.o. “Nieuwsblad Transport”, the dutch shipping newspaper.

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We read the f0llowing judgements in the Stifel Financial Services bulletin: (www.stifel.com)

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As expected, the 2Q14 was strong for many of the companies which have reported 2Q14 results so far. Supply and demand was unquestionably tight throughout the quarter. But, supply was constrained by:

•  A congested national rail network which, in the three months after the bulk of the challenging 1Q14 snow and ice melted, still wasn’t close to recovering to network fluidity levels routinely experienced in recent years.
• A truck driver shortage that was/remains the worst ever experienced. The shortage has spread well beyond the irregular route truckload sector and now constrains capacity in the drayage, dedicated fleet, private fleet, less-than-truckload, and regional distribution market segments.
• The new Hours-of-Service rules which were implemented by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on July 1, 2013. Most carriers reported losing 2% to 4% of their system productivity as a result of the new rules.
• A highway system that does not have sufficient maintenance funding, that is in a state of disrepair, and that is riddled with far too many debilitating bottlenecks or choke points. In 2013 the American Society of Civil Engineers gave our nation’s roads a collective grade of “D” and our nation’s bridges a collective grade of “C+”.
• Shippers, as a class, that have yet to collaborate sufficiently with carriers to eliminate much of the waste embedded in the historical operating model. For example, freight is too often delivered by appointment in order to maximize the efficiency of the receiver (without regard for the impact the schedule may have on productivity of the nation’s freight transportation network).

… while demand was strengthened by:

• 1Q14 freight that couldn’t be delivered in the 1Q14 (due to extraordinarily challenging winter weather conditions) and was, instead, delivered in the 2Q14.
• Imported 3Q14 freight was pulled forward into the 2Q14 as shippers anticipated the possibility of a work stoppage at west coast ports.
• What our friend Scott Arves (CEO of Transport Corp. of America) termed the “Law of Big Stuff ”. Late Spring and early Summer merchandise is not miniaturizable and tends to move during the second quarter. Think in terms of gas grills, fertilizer, lawn mowers, lawn furniture, garden hoses, rototillers, pool chemicals, charcoal, beer, Gatorade, etc. In essence, the 2Q has emerged as the freight peak, especially as holiday gifts continue to get more and more compact (think in terms of iPads, iPods, iPhones, etc.) and as more and more gift givers pursue the “safe route” and give gift cards—which are typically not redeemed until the 1Q of the following year.
• Inventory and stockpile replenishment which couldn’t be accomplished in the 1Q due to the weather. Coal stockpiles at many utilities still haven’t been fully replenished. And the late December surge in e-commerce orders, which nearly brought UPS to its knees, depleted many fulfillment centers’ inventories. Those, in turn, needed to be restocked in the 1Q and in the 2Q.

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CMA informed us about their next GRI on the Transpac trade lane:

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Please be advised that CMA CGM will implement a General Rate Increase (GRI) on all dry and reefer cargo from Asia to the US West Coast, US East Coast and US Gulf Ports and MLB’s, IPI’s, RIPI’s and SDD’s via such ports:

From : All Ports of Load in ASIA
To : All US Ports of Discharge

 
Effective Date: September 1, 2014 (Cargo receipt date at origin)

 
USD 480 per 20′ (all types)
USD 600 per 40′ (all types)
USD 675 per 40’HC (all types)
USD 760 per 45′ (all types)
USD 960 per 53′ (all types)

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We understand that NYK had problems to get their last announcement approved by the MOT in China. They wanted to start the truck congestion surcharge in Hamburg  on July 25th already and were forced to announce again for the start on September 1st as per below:

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NYK would like to announce an implementation of an emergency truck transport congestion surcharge effective from the 1st September 2014, applicable for all truck carriers’ haulage transports via Hamburg terminals.

Quantum – EUR 50 per container

We will closely monitor the traffic situation in Hamburg port area and withdraw from this surcharge, as soon as the traffic situation will be back to normal

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Allseas Global Logistics is starting an exciting new chapter in its development, following a change in ownership structure.
The company is now wholly owned by Managing Director Darren Wright, who co-founded Allseas 11 years ago and was formerly the majority shareholder. The change in ownership was formally completed on Darren’s 36th birthday.
Founded and based in Manchester, Allseas has built a strong reputation for its expertise in handling project, heavy lift and out-of-gauge cargoes, as well as FCL/LCL (full container load/less than container load) movements on a worldwide basis.
The change in ownership opens up new opportunities to expand and build on what has already been achieved, particularly as key markets emerge from recession and economic confidence returns.
“We have a lot of opportunities on the horizon and are really excited about the future,” says Darren. “Taking over the 100% ownership will enable me to explore new opportunities and continue to develop a number of new ventures under the Allseas brand.”
Among these is Allseas’ Supply Chain Division, which was launched recently and is expected to lead to growth in the companies’ Far East activities – including, potentially, opening offices in Hong Kong and elsewhere in China.
“Our new Supply Chain Division is focused on the retail sector; we have brought in a team who are very experienced in operating and constructing supply chains for major retail outfits and this division is picking up pace tremendously,” says Darren.
Allseas has also launched Allair, a dedicated air freight service; this follows Allseas graining IATA (International Air Transport Association) approval.
In addition, Allseas recently secured the United Nations’ prestigious ‘Approved Supplier Status’, underlining its commitment to expertise in the humanitarian aid/relief sector.
“While excited about our expansion plans, we will remain faithful to our roots in heavy lift and project cargo and that will always be the case,” says Darren. “We are looking at further expansion into more equipment to serve that sector of the business.
“Following the change of ownership, it is, in some ways, ‘business as usual’. But this change also gives us the impetus to push on and increase our portfolio – it is a great new start for Allseas Global Logistics.”

After several days of ongoing talks, both parties will break from negotiations next Monday and Tuesday in order for the ILWU to convene its previously scheduled Longshore Division Caucus in San Francisco. Negotiations are scheduled to resume Wednesday.

No talks will take place July 28 to Aug. 1 so the ILWU can resume unrelated contract negotiations in the Pacific Northwest.

The previous labor contract covering nearly 20,000 longshore workers at 29 West Coast ports expired July 1. While there is no contract extension in place, both parties have pledged to keep cargo moving.

The coast-wide labor contract is between employers who operate port terminals and shipping lines represented by the PMA and dockworkers represented by the ILWU. The parties have negotiated a West Coast collective bargaining agreement since the 1930s.

A joint ILWU-PMA statement at the weekend said the previous contract, which expired July 1, would not be extended while negotiations are recessed. However, the union and employers said, “While there is no contract extension in place, both parties have pledged to keep cargo moving.”

Though it isn’t unusual for the ILWU to call caucuses from time to time, next week’s meetings “will certainly cover the contract negotiations,” ILWU spokesman Craig Merrilees said.

Caucus members are democratically chosen delegates elected from each local union. Those delegates determine the agenda and the topics to be discussed.

“Caucus meetings are held as needed. This one was scheduled some time ago,” Merrilees said.

Earlier this month, the union agreed to extend its previous contract when talks recessed for three days so the ILWU could participate in contract negotiations with grain handlers in the Pacific Northwest. The grain contract is not related to the ILWU-PMA contract, and the grain handlers are not members of the PMA.

During that recess, the Teamsters union set up pickets at several container terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach in support of striking drivers who were targeting three harbor trucking companies. ILWU members at those terminals walked off their jobs.

Because the previous ILWU contract was back in place, employers used the grievance procedure to call in an area arbitrator who ruled that the pickets were not “bona fide” under the waterfront contract, and the longshoremen were ordered back to work.

Since then, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti brokered a deal between the drivers and trucking companies and the pickets have been removed from the harbor.

The joint PMA-ILWU statement at the weekend also noted that the coastwide negotiations would recess on July 28 to Aug. 1 so ILWU negotiators can return to the Pacific Northwest to resume negotiations with grain handlers.

The ILWU and the PMA are not releasing information about the coastwide contract negotiations. Although cargo interests are concerned the negotiations have continued almost three weeks past the July 1 deadline without an agreement, cargo volumes at West Coast ports remain strong.

Weekly tabulations of ILWU man-hours paid show that in Los Angeles-Long Beach man-hours in May through early July were running 20 to 30 percent above the same weeks last year

We just received this message from Maersk Line:

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China Customs head office has ordered all Chinese ports to stop using old manifest system and implement the new CCAM system from 30th of June 2014. Shanghai port has finished with the implementation recently; however this does not mean enforcement of the regulations. Chinese customs intend to enforce the regulations when all ports confirm readiness still expected from 30th September 2014.

Effective from enforcement date, shipments that have no approval or receive a “Do not load” notice from Chinese customs cannot be loaded on any vessel calling China.

To ensure smooth transportation of your shipment after CCAM enforcement, we would like to bring the following rules into your attention:

– Chinese customs mandate valid seal number to be present on the shipping instruction. Special characters are not allowed.

– Each seal number should be unique, the same seal number cannot appear more than once for a single container or transport document.

– Authorities also require dangerous cargo contact to be advised for all dangerous cargo.

We encourage you to start follow this practice as soon as possible, making sure that all containers will be approved for loading at go live of the regulations.

In order to make you aware of the data quality concerns your documentation might have for China, we will start sending intimations in case we see a challenge from 11th of August 2014.

For detailed information on this regulation and relevant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), you may visit Maersk Line website via this link:

http://my.maerskline.com/link/?page=lhp&path=/asia/china/customs_regulations/CCAM

We will keep you informed of any further development regarding the enforcement. In case you have any questions or require any assistance regarding this new regulation, please don’t hesitate to contact your local Maersk Line representative.

Thank you for your attention!

Yours sincerely,

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