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Australian Logistics Supply Chain Under Severe Pressure and Rising Costs

20-January-2022

Australian Logistics Supply Chain Under Severe Pressure and Rising Costs

Dear Valued Customers & Partners,

We would like to draw your attention to issues currently facing the Australian Supply Chain and the severe pressure it is under right now to meet demand and facilitate service levels. The issue mainly stems from the amount of COVID case numbers currently being experienced on Australia’s East Coast, which is resulting in severe labour shortage, including terminal workers, truck drivers, container unpackers, admin staff and more. Even with changes to close contact isolation rules, a lot of damage has already been done and the issue remains, it will be a case of “it will get worse before it gets better”.

The issue is being covered by various media sources and industry bodies. Here are some links for your reference.

Over the last few days, we have received many notices from transport companies, both contracted and not contracted by SILA, about the introduction of a temporary COVID Levy. Unfortunately, these additional fees will need to be passed on and will be listed on our monthly ancillary tariff with the first being effective 01 Feb. It’s not only transport companies implementing these levies with the Victorian International Container Terminal (VICT) also introducing a COVD Levy siting “Throughout the last two years of the pandemic, VICT has absorbed the cost of additional COVID requirements but due to the latest outbreak and overall increase in costs especially relating to Rapid Antigen Tests, we have no option but to apply a temporary tariff to recover some of the extraordinary costs.” We expect that other terminals will follow suit. The levy will have a ‘knock on’ effect going through the entire supply chain and, we expect that shortly, most of the logistics industry will be charging this levy in some form or another.

Other costs are also rising within the supply chain, either due to COVID, scheduled pricing increases or other economic factors. For example, the price of diesel has risen and remained high over the last few months, Ad Blue Shortages have driven its price up, Terminal Infrastructure Fees are also on the move once again as Terminals have published information that they will, once again, increase these fees. The cost of labour and staff has increased as the labour shortage starts to drive up wages to secure and retain staff; I use this to highlight how many different areas that supply chain costs are increasing and we expect this to continue for some time but this will ultimately result in a base line overall increase or a General Rate Increase (GRI) within the supply chain space.

We will continue to monitor and keep you up to date when further info is received.

Simon Pepper
Managing Director
SILA Global Pty Ltd

by SilaAdmin

Shipping Containers Logistics Australia 4

SILA Global Industry News 23/07/2021

23/07/2021

Shipping Update

In continuation of our last update, Vessel Scheduling and Congestion continues to be a problem with booking times increasing and transhipments times through other major hubs also growing. We are seeing some abnormal transit times being advised by shipping lines on some key lanes, Xingang to East Coast AU for example, with major delays being faced in Busan. Shipping containers are taking up 90% of the Busan Port capacity in this short Video which highlights the challenges being faced.

To further highlight congestion issues “As of 3.20 pm Singapore time July 21st, there were 328 ships idling in front of ports around the world with 116 ports reporting challenges, such as congestion.” With a map of vessel positions provided this is a good visual summary of the current state of global trade.

Freight forwarding Australia

The article provided by Sam Chambers on Splash247 goes on to quote “ It is concerning to see the situation not yet improving,” Turloch Mooney, associate director, maritime and trade at IHS Markit, told Splash. “Schedule reliability is still way down on pre-pandemic levels. Taken together with very high growth in call sizes, many terminal yards at full capacity, and continuing problems with repositioning of equipment, it is difficult to see a meaningful improvement in the situation in the near-term.”

The traditional peak season is due to begin August / September however it seems we have been in a perpetual peak season for the last 18 months. At this stage we can only assume that these challenges will continue and possibly get worse in some areas as we add further pressure to already peak demand.

Ocean Freight

As can be expected with peak season, it brings with it a General Rate Increase (GRI) or Peak Season Surcharge (PSS). Current pricing is already high, and the proposed increases will add to these costs.

Announcements for GRI effective 1st August are approximately USD500 per 20’ and USD1000 per 40’ however this will vary between lines and trade lanes. For example, Asia to America(s) lanes will reportedly be double this rate and India somewhere in the middle, however it is safe to say that further freight increases are incoming.

In our last update 5th July 21 the Global Container Freight Index provided by Freightos Baltic index was sitting at USD 6297 and currently at USD6714.

Protected Industrial Action (PIA) Update at Patrick Terminals

Industry has been advised by Patrick Terminals of further protected industrial action in Melbourne and Brisbane this week with current delays summarised as follows.

Average Sydney Terminal delays are now: 6.3 days
Significant delays forecast in Fremantle as a result of the MUA Industrial action in the coming 7-10 days
Melbourne and Brisbane - at present there no delays to vessel schedule

DAWE Updates

BMSB

The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) has published Import Industry Advice Notice for next years Brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) seasonal measures, and is linked below for your attention

The list of target risk countries will now include Poland in addition to target risk countries identified for the 2020-21 BMSB risk season.

Emerging risk countries for the 2021-22 BMSB risk season include Belarus, Malta, Sweden, United Kingdom, and Chile.

To read the full industry notice, click here

Khapra Beetle

To support the implementation of our khapra beetle urgent actions, the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment has developed two short videos to communicate:

the risks khapra beetle poses to Australia
how to identify khapra beetle
the importance of sea container cleanliness
how to maintain sea container cleanliness

The department welcomes Biosecurity Industry Participants to watch and share the content. You can watch the videos here:

The risks of khapra beetle

If you have any questions, please contact your local SILA representative.

Thanks – SILA Customer Service

by SilaAdmin

SILA Global Industry News 05/07/21

05/07/21

MUA Action at Patrick Terminals
Notice has been received by Patrick terminal that MUA plan to ramp up industrial action over the coming weeks which include certain overtime and shift performance bans as well as rolling work stoppages;

Stoppages of work of 1-hour duration at 0500, 1300 and 2100 each day commencing on Thursday, 24 June 2021 for a 21-day period until Thursday 15 July 2021.

As of Tuesday 29th June the current status of Patrick Port Botany was as follows;

Average Sydney Terminal delays are now:8 days
Average delay on-window vessels: 3 days
Average delay off-window vessels: 9 days
The MUA currently has a ban on working subcontracted vessels from other operators.

Patrick Terminals have made adjustments to rail windows including reducing capacity allocated from 4300 lifts per week to 3200 lifts per week due to ongoing industrial action (with the cancellation of 12 of 56 windows). As a result, rail capacity will be reduced by approx. 25%. Patrick will seek to re-instate the rail windows as soon as possible.

Needless to say, these interruptions provide a lot of issues with some carriers reporting they are expecting a large amount of containers to be subject to storage due to ongoing delays. Patrick have put a notice to industry stating:

“Given that the protected industrial action is outside our ability to control, Patrick will not be issuing storage waivers or reductions resulting from the MUA imposed stoppages”.

Freight & Trade Alliance has issued a media release calling for “urgent intervention to prevent supply-chain crisis” the media release can be read here and our team will keep you up to date on any developments.

Shipping Update
Vessel arrivals from Asia are being delayed by up to 20 days or more, with little improvement in sight. China ports are facing widespread congestion, equipment shortages and a lack of shipping space which will continues to delay any return of some form of ’normal’ well back to the second half of next year.

With space availability continually to shrinking from China, we are receiving reports that some carriers are not accepting any bookings for at least 2 weeks and are reporting fully booked vessels until at least 15th July. Other reports are coming to us that there is the potential for 5 week or possibly longer delays from Ningbo.

Reports from India also suggest that the wait time for equipment is between 10-20 days, which is also compounded by wait time in order to secure bookings which can also be a few weeks in itself (the LoadStar provides a good commentary in this area). Additionally we are seeing transhipment waiting times increase on certain carrier services as the international trade hub continues to grow. Recent figures released show that Year On Year container Growth is up 14.6% for May 2021 equating to 3.22million TEU.

Ocean Freight Pricing – Commentary by Simon Pepper, Director of Customs & Logistics.
It is a topic of much speculation and conjecture, but what I think most can agree on is that the level of pricing increase that has been seen was not predicted or foreseen by many. According to Global Container Freight Index provided by Freightos Baltic index https://fbx.freightos.com/freight-index/FBX (while it will vary on each trade lane), the cost of Ocean Freight has increased six times compared to this time 2019 (pre-covid).

Toward the end of 2019 Ocean Freight pricing was not at its lowest levels, however it was at a level which was predictable and most proposed rate increases were rejected by the market at the time. Any increases which did go through were marginal with little effect to the bottom line.

There are many factors which have a bearing on this situation and there are also factors which are region or country specific (each with its own issues), but in most cases it can be attributed to the following factors: equipment shortages, port congestion, space supply and demand.

According to data provided by Statista 6 out of 10 of the world’s busiest ports in 2020 (based on throughput) are in China. Given that China is a majority export country there is a substantial need for empty containers there to support this throughput. However, in most ports there is a constant shortage of empty equipment and there are many factors which impact the repositioning of empty containers to these much-needed areas, such as the much-publicised Suez Canal blockage. Also recently reported by Taricc Booker on news.com.au indicators suggest we may be facing another bottleneck in China which will continue to make matters difficult. If ports are closed and vessels are skipping their port calls then this will only put further strain on an already tense situation. There are plans by lines and equipment manufacturers to assist with equipment shortage relief, as reported by FreightWaves but there is still a way to go in this area with little relief expected until sometime in 2022.

When also looking at the economics of the global trade situation, certain tradelines are paying nearly double others. For example, the China/East Asia to North Europe is 40-50% higher than the current base global trade index and given a choice to allocate container equipment to a tradeline with a base price nearly half of another, it only makes sense to prioritize the allocation of equipment to a lane with the potential for higher yield limiting what is left over for other lanes.

The effect of this then floats down to the smaller, lower yield markets and to make these lanes still attractive for the carriers to support then Freight Prices must increase. Needless to say, it certainly is a difficult situation and as reported by Greg Miller of FreightWaves indicators suggest that pricing may continue to rise.

If you have any questions, please contact your local SILA representative.

Thanks - SILA Customer Service

by SilaAdmin

SILA Global Industry News 17/06/21

17/06/21

SILA Global Ancillary Charges

To our valued customers,

As you would be aware through our notices, there have been many ongoing price increases in ancillary charges that affect container transport. Port fees such as Terminal Access Charges, Slot booking fees, Long Vehicle surcharges, Sideloader Fees as well as ongoing increases to return containers to Empty parks are among the growing list of charges both new and increasing in all major Australian ports.

For SILA to provide our ongoing excellence in Customer Service and Transparency in Logistics it has become necessary for us to establish a tariff for these fees so that the costs and any increases are passed on in a timely and transparent manner.

SILA will arrange for our costs to be conveyed to you in a manner which applies to the scope of work being conducted with the ancillary tariff costs applying in addition this and noted on the quote. This will remove the need for our customer rate sheets to be updated monthly saving time in review and we will be providing a link for clients to be able to access these charges at any time.

Therefore, moving forward all customers will be charged as per ancillary tariff updated monthly.

China Congestion Issues

Congestion issues and container shortages continue in China.

Container shortages worsen as carriers omit Southern China ports due to waves of COVID-19 outbreaks. Yantian, Shekou and Nansha ports are most heavily affected at this stage. Read more here: theloadstar.com

It's being reported that as of last week the number of containers in Yantian affected by port congestion is set to surpass those affected by the Ever Given Suez canal incident.

SILA Global NZ Industry News 15/06/21

15/06/21

COVID-19 Update - Shenzhen Ports

There has been a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Shenzhen, impacting the ports of Yantian, Chiwan and Shekou, along with Guangzhou affecting the port of Nansha.

We have been advised by multiple steamship lines that they are planning to omit these ports to minimize vessel delays, protect schedule reliability, and assist local authorities in their efforts to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

More info here: gcaptain.com

Whilst the situation is fluid we are being informed to expect delays of up to 14 days.

Our teams in Hong Kong and China will be providing more comprehensive details of the impact to the schedules.

SILA Global will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep you updated.

NZ Customs Updates

Exports to China and South East Asia

To access the preferential rates of duty to China and AASEAN countries a certificate of origin must be provided that meets FTA requirements, and comply with certain other terms of the agreement.

A certificate of origin will give assurance to the Customs authority of the importing party that an importer’s claim for originating status under the China and AASEAN Agreement is valid.

Certification bodies are able to issue certificates of origin in respect of the China and AANZFTA Agreement to enable eligible New Zealand exports to claim the applicable preferential tariff treatment when imported into another party to the China and AANZFTA Agreement. The certification bodies in New Zealand are:

Auckland Business Chamber
Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce
New Zealand Chambers of Commerce Inc
Otago Chamber of Commerce
Wellington Chamber of Commerce
Trade Window Origin Limited (IVS)
WiseTech Global Limited

Changes to Goods Clearance Fees

Changes related to Goods Clearance Fees, previously due to start on 1 June 2020 but postponed due to COVID-19, will now start on 1 July 2021.

Some fees will increase, while others will fall. The changes relate to:

Customs' Goods Clearance Fees
Customs’ hourly rate for attendance outside working hours
the recovery of certain costs incurred related to Customs’ services for holders of Intellectual Property Rights.

If you have any questions, please contact your local SILA Global NZ representative

Thanks

Customer Service - SILA Global NZ

by SilaAdmin

SILA Global Industry News 28/05/21

28/05/21

End of BMSB Season
Thankfully, we are reaching the end of another BMSB season. On 1 June 2021, the Department of Agriculture, Water & the Environment will cease its measures for the 2020-21 BMSB risk season. You can read some interesting information on the season just passed in the DAWE industry notice, please click here

Empty park Increases
After reporting increases to Empty Park booking fees from DP World Logistics and MCS Cooks River in our last update, it’s no surprise that further increases have been announced by Parks across Sydney, Brisbane & Melbourne with Fremantle expected to follow. It seems that once one Depot decides its time for an increase to their rates other also seize the opportunity to implement rate rises, not dissimilar to the Terminal Operator increases.

Unfortunately, there is no regulation to this sector of the market and it’s a take it or leave it approach, the fee is either paid or you are unable to book your container for return to the depot.

As always, we strive to keep our customers informed of these situations but this will result in an increase to the empty booking fees in our ancillary tariff.

ANL Suspending bookings ex Australia to Pakistan
In another sign of the challenges facing shipping, ANL will temporarily STOP accepting new shipments ex Australia / New Zealand / Papua New Guinea / Dili to Pakistan effective from 26th May 2021 for All Trades except APR Trade. This is due to severe ongoing congestion in South East Asia Transhipment Ports, shipments to Port Qasim and Karachi and severe delays experienced for connection on feeder service to Port Qasim and Karachi.
Delays ex China & India to U.S & Canada

Space issues continue for shipments destined for Canada & U.S out of China & India.

• Due to the constant blank sailings ex China to USA / Canada, this has only adding further pressure to the space constraint problems & causing more port congestion. With port congestion an issue, some carriers are omitting port calls last minute to try and catch up on their sailing schedule. As noted previously, space ex India & China into Canada is extremely tight. Out of India for example, there are a few lines who were releasing space into Canada but have since stopped due to space & inventory issues. Some carriers are completely overbooked into July, and some have suspended their Canadian service until the backlog has cleared.

• In addition, India has had an extension on their partial lockdown & is now a full lockdown until 31st May 2021 at this stage which will likely cause disruption to the logistics chain causing delays.
We will continue to keep you updated as the situation progresses

U.S Update
Currently the U.S is experiencing terminal difficulties relating to the handling of larger import vessels and the continuance of empty container prioritization. The ability to efficiently move cargo has become increasingly challenging as space, equipment, and manpower are all scarce and creating inefficiencies.

U.S. East Coast Major Concerns:
Due to an uptick in demand for imports, a lack of available truckers, and limited yard space, USEC terminals are experiencing heavy congestion and longer than usual dwell times.
• NY / NJ: 3 - 4 days vessel wait time; lines at the gate and congestion inside the terminal
• Savannah: 2 – 3 days vessel wait time
• Norfolk: 2 – 3 days vessel wait time

U.S West Coast Major Concerns:
Due to record breaking import volume, labour shortages and massive yard congestion, the USWC is experiencing severe delays and long dwell times.
• LA / Long Beach: 10 – 18 days vessel wait time
• Seale: 4 – 6 days vessel wait time
• Oakland: 18 – 22 days vessel wait time

Protected Industrial Action – Patrick terminals
We have been notified of upcoming Patrick terminal notice of "Protected Industrial Action (PIA)" from the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).

This PIA may impact the availability of labour, particularly at Patrick Terminals - Sydney AutoStrad, and may result in delays.
Patrick Terminals - Sydney AutoStrad
• A ban on the performance of overtime at Port Botany (Sydney) from 6am Thursday 20th May 2021 for 14 days finishing 6am Thursday 3rd June 2021.
• A ban on the working of shift extensions at Port Botany (Sydney) from 6am Thursday 20th May 2021 for 14 days finishing 6am Thursday 3rd June 2021.
• A ban on the performance of overtime at Port Botany (Sydney) from 6am Thursday 3rd June 2021 for 14 days finishing 6am Thursday 17th June 2021.
• A ban on the working of shift extensions at Port Botany (Sydney) from 6am Thursday 3rd June 2021 for 14 days finishing 6am Thursday 17th June 2021.
• A ban on the performance of upgrades and/or work in higher levels at Port Botany (Sydney) commencing at 10:00pm Friday 4 June 2021 until 10:00pm Sunday 6 June 2021.
• A ban on the performance of upgrades and/or work in higher levels at Port Botany (Sydney) commencing at 10:00pm Friday 11 June 2021 until 10:00pm Sunday 13 June 2021.

Patrick Terminals - Brisbane AutoStrad
• A ban on attending work on days an employee is rostered as "off/avail" commencing from 7am Saturday 15th May 2021 and finishing 11pm Sunday 16 May 2021.
• A ban on working overtime commencing from 7am Saturday 15th May 2021 and finishing 11pm Sunday 16 May 2021.
• A ban on attending for work on days an employee is rostered as "off/avail" commencing from 11pm Friday 28 May 2021 and finishing 11pm Sunday 30 May 2021
• A ban on working overtime at Fisherman Island (Brisbane) from 11pm Friday 28 May 2021 and finishing 11pm Sunday 30 May 2021

Patrick Terminals - Fremantle
• A ban on attending work on days an employee is rostered as "off/avail" commencing from 7am Saturday 15th May 2021 and finishing 11pm Sunday 23 May 2021.
• A ban on attending work on days an employee is rostered as "off/avail" commencing from 7am Tuesday 25th May 2021 and finishing 7am Tuesday 8 June 2021.
• Work stoppages of 1-hour duration at 0600, 1400 and 2200 each day from 27 May 2021 (excluding Saturday and Sunday) finishing on 4 June 2021.

Patrick Terminals - Melbourne
• No notifications to date

If you have any questions regarding any of the above, please contact your local SILA representative.

Thanks & kind regards
SILA Customer Service

by SilaAdmin

SILA Global Industry News 14/05/21

14/05/21

Patrick Terminal Sydney – MUA Industrial Action – Sydney Autostrad

Notice has been received that there will be Protected Industrial Action at Patrick Terminal – Sydney Autostrad as per below:

A ban on overtime at Port Botany from 6am Thursday 20th May 2021 for 14 days
A ban on working of shift extensions at Port Botany from 6am Thursday 20th May 2021 for 14 days.

Patrick Terminals is committed to minimising the impact on customers and the supply chain.

Ocean freight pricing – current trends set to continue

After a period of stability, carriers are preparing to roll out new General Rate Increases (GRI’s) – expected to come into effect 1st June. Maritime consultant Drewry has recently reported that it expects the “extreme freight rates” on the transpacific and Asia-Europe trades “will last for at least another three to five months”. It added: “There is also a phenomenon of contagion, where extreme freight rates spread from trade route to trade route. This happened last year, when extreme rates on the transpacific spot market were followed by extreme rates on Asia-Europe. There is strong evidence that the transatlantic trade spot market is next in line.

The full article, including FBX readings can be found here

Container Chain Notification Fee Increases

We have been advised that DP World Logistics Parks 1 & 2 as well as MCS Cooks have reviewed and will be increasing their Empty Container Return Notification Fee - also known as the Container Chain booking fee. The charge increases are substantial, at approx. 35% and unfortunately we expect that more depots will follow this lead and increase their fees accordingly. The revised fees will be effective 1st June 2021 and will continue to be processed via the Container Chain booking system. We will continue to keep you informed as other depots adjust their fees.

Changes to Rail Tagging Process at Hutchison Terminal

Due to new processes implemented at Hutchison Terminal, all containers destined for Newcastle via Rail Services must have the tagging functions completed by the Rail operator. There is no longer the option for forwarders or customers to process their own rail tags and releases directly. This will incur additional rail tagging charges per container and will be included in SILA’s ancillary charges accordingly. If you require further information please contact your SILA representative.

Customs & Trade: Federal Budget 2021-22

Andrew Hudson from Rigby Cooke has reviewed the 2021-22 Federal Budget and has identified the impact on Customs, Trade and Transport industry, including:

Continued funding of $118.2million to provide the International Freight Assistance Mechanism until the end of September 2021.
$198.2 million over four years to assist export diversification and growth
Additional funding of $37.4 million over three years to provide ongoing support to “modernise”the Australian trade system.
Click to read the full article here

Rate Increase Australia/NZ to South East Asia to Indian sub-continent, Middle East Gulf region Red Sea regions.

We have advised notice from ANL that for the period of 22nd May – end of June 2021 there will be a Cost Recovery Increase to rates from Australia & New Zealand to all India Sub-Continent, & Gulf region & Red Sea regions.
According to ANL representatives “The shipping industry globally is facing a number of unprecedented issues such as:

Unprecedented demand and subsequent shortage of containers globally
Vessel charter rates at close to record highs and also a shortage of vessels in the charter market
Serious port congestion around the globe “

As a consequence ANL will be implementing a Cost Recovery program with a rate increase for cost recovery of USD700/TEU from Australia and New Zealand to all ISC & Gulf region & Red Sea effective 22nd May across all customers until end of June 2021. We are reviewing Q3 rates and will advise further in due course.

If you have any questions regarding any of the above, please contact your local SILA representative.

Thanks & kind regards

SILA Customer Service

by SilaAdmin

Khapra Beetle Notice

01/04/21

Khapra Beetle Notice

Dear Clients,
We wish to advise you that the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) has released important information and urgent actions to protect against khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium). We highly recommend the time be taken to review these measures to understand if it has any effect on your goods. Treatment is mandatory and any container found not to be treated, which is deemed a Khapra Beetle risk, will be re-exported and no provisions for on shore treatment available. DAWE have provided a useful flowchart which can be found here and we have provided further information below.

“In response to the recent and increasing hitchhiker risk of khapra beetle in sea containers, changes to the management of containers is now an immediate priority. Accordingly, new measures for containers (Phase 6A) will be introduced ahead of proposed changes for plant products and seeds for sowing (Phases 3-5). A new webpage detailing the khapra beetle sea container measures is now available.”

What are Target Risk Containers?
A target risk container is defined as a Full Container Load/Full Container Consolidated (FCL/FCX) where:
• high-risk plant products are packed into the sea container in a khapra beetle target risk country
• other goods are packed into the sea container in a khapra beetle target risk country and destined to a rural grain growing area of Australia.

Target risk containers must be:
• treated offshore using a department approved treatment option
• Treated within 21 days prior to export and
• accompanied by appropriate certification.

The target of these treatments is the container and not the goods/commodity being shipped within the container. This means that the container must be treated prior to packing, except if using methyl bromide fumigation.
The start date for these requirements depends on the type of target risk container:

For further information on the above graphic please check www.agriculture.gov.au.
Please do not hesitate to contact the team if you require any further information.

Thanks & kind regards
SILA Customer Service

by SilaAdmin

Shipping Containers Logistics Australia 6

Industry Update 09/03/21

09/03/21

Industry Update

Singapore
Singapore is experiencing major delays, with vessel turnaround times more than double.
Reported last week in The Loadstar, Peter Sundara of LF Logistics advises “there’s a lot of vessel bunching, which is causing delays, and we see feeders coming in from South-east Asia missing connections with mainline vessels.

In turn, the mainline vessels are coming in overbooked, therefore transhipment containers are missing their nominated vessels and getting rolled – for a week, in some cases”.

Additionally, reports show that wait time in port increased almost 60% from 2020.
Unsurprisingly it is a combination of current factors causing this situation. Increased demand, congestion across all facets of the supply chain, a shortage of useable empty containers and significant disruption to vessel scheduling.

US
The US West Coast has been experiencing significant port and landside congestion for several months. Whilst it is very difficult to predict when things are likely to get back to normal – the usual slowdown after Chinese New Year has not occurred this year and the unprecedented spike in demand for US imports is expected to continue through to early 2022.

According to MSC’s US president and CEO Fabio Santucci “constant and effective cooperation and communication with partners, vendors & clients” as being key to the current situation. “We were talking to shippers and customers in March and April (2020), and no one envisaged what was about to come. We saw spikes of 50-100% of cargo volume” which had put a “massive strain” on a system that was not designed to handle “a sustained surge over more than 30 weeks”.

According to port of Los Angeles Signal port optimiser data, the average time ships are waiting at anchorage for a berth is now almost 8 days. And when they do get a berth – further delays are experienced because of terminal congestion.

The attached picture, as published in Shipping Australia this week shows a photo taken by the US Coast Guard showing the massive congestion off the coast of LA.

Significant delays on the West Coast then cause delays in other countries and further compound the congestion felt across the world in the supply chain.

Freight forwarder Australia

Australia
Locally, we continue to experience the knock-on effect from congestion experienced around the world. Vessels are arriving off-window, causing berth congestion and some shipping lines have opted to either change port rotation or omit ports in an attempt to reduce the delays.

If you have any questions or need assistance with any of your shipments please contact your local SILA representative.

by SilaAdmin

Landside Tariff increase at Patrick and Hutchison Terminals

19/02/21
Dear customers,

We would like to advise that notice has been received from Patrick Terminals and Hutchison Ports of their revised annual landside tariff (effective 1st & 15th March 2021).

This includes a further increase in Terminal Infrastructure Surcharges, Access Charges and Vehicle Booking System charges (nationally) plus the re-introduction of a sideloader fee which may have an effect on requests to receive deliveries by sideloader direct from slots.

From March 1st these increases will be applied in all states for containers collected at any Patrick Terminal;
• Terminal Infrastructure $10.00
• Vehicle Booking Fees $19.50
• Sideloader Levy (if applicable) $75.00

From March 15th these increases will be applied in all states for containers collected at any Hutchison Ports Terminal;

• Terminal Infrastructure
• Sydney International Container Terminal $53.00
• Brisbane International Container Terminal $45.00
• Vehicle Booking Fees $19.50
• Sideloader Levy (if applicable) $75.00

If you have any questions please contact your local SILA representative.

Thanks & kind regards
SILA Customer Service

by SilaAdmin