/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Mason regular ship and overtime ship

As the main mode of transportation in international trade, international shipping accounts for more than two-thirds of the total international trade volume. When it comes to shipping, we have to mention Mason, which is divided into regular ships and overtime ships. What is the difference between them? Next, let's take a brief look at it.

Mason regular ship and overtime ship!
Mason regular ship and overtime ship!

The sailing dates vary:

Mason's regular ships usually sail every Wednesday in Shanghai, and overtime ships usually sail on Thursdays. Generally speaking, they will sail for 11 days. The sailing time at Ningbo Port will be one day earlier, usually every Wednesday.

The efficiency of the cabinet is different:

After unloading the container, Matson's main ship will also load other goods to Hawaii immediately. This part of the route is their own domestic transportation, so Matson will arrange enough manpower on the dedicated terminal to unload and load the ship. The front and the frame of the United States are separated, and the Mason regular ship can ensure that each frame and box are ready to be pulled by the front, so the efficiency of the regular ship cannot be replaced by other ships.

Prices vary:

The timeliness of the main ship of Mason is very fast. If it arrives in the west of the United States, it can be put into the warehouse within 9 working days. Of course, the price will be more expensive than the overtime ship. There are other types of services of Mason, such as time-limited arrival, less than package. Compensation and other prices will also be a bit more expensive than other types of services. Sellers who pursue the timeliness of goods transportation can consider this type of service.

The docks at the unloading port are different:

After the main ship of Matson arrives at the port of destination, it will stop at the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Oakland. According to the official information of Mason Steamship, the pick-up location of Long Beach Port is located in the out-of-port storage yard (STE) 3.5 miles away from the terminal, and the pick-up location of the Oakland port is located at Pier 63 or 0.5 miles away from the terminal. There is no need to make an appointment for each of the lockers and the lockers. Therefore, the general cargo can be picked up the next day after arriving at the port.

Matson overtime ships usually dock at Pier A for unloading. This wharf is a joint venture between Matson Shipping, MSC and Yixing Clipper, which is a public wharf. Therefore, the unloading efficiency of the overtime ship of Mason docked at this terminal is relatively low. When the number of ships at the terminal is large, there is even a queue to wait for the port.

How to quickly distinguish between Mason's regular ships and overtime ships?

Look at the route code. The code of the main ship of Mason is CLX, and the code of the overtime ship is CLX+.

The CLX+ departed from Shanghai on Thursday to the Port of Long Beach on an 11-day voyage, and from Ningbo to the Port of Long Beach on a 13-day voyage.

There is also a peak season overtime express, namely CCX. It takes 12 days for CCX to sail from Shanghai to Oakland Port, and it takes 14 days to sail from Ningbo to Oakland Port. Generally, ships stop at Oakland Port for 2-3 days and leave, and then go directly to Long Beach Public Port, with a 1-day voyage. Because of the stopover in Auckland, the voyage between Shanghai and Long Beach will be 2-3 days longer than CCX and CLX+.

The transportation time between the main ship and the overtime ship will be about 4-6 working days. If there is no great requirement for the transportation time of the goods, you can also choose the overtime ship. Of course, it is better if there are other shipping companies. The shipping channel is also optional.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Supplementary charges for port terminal canals

Everyone also knows that there are many types of shipping surcharges. In order to make up for their own losses in various aspects, the ship party has added a number of surcharges in various names. However, among the marine surcharges, some charges are imposed by the port, terminal, or canal authority. Do you understand this kind of cost? Today, I will use the simplest language to tell you about the surcharges imposed by the port, wharf, and canal authorities.

Notice to sellers: Analysis of these additional costs for port canals

Supplementary charges for port terminal canals
Supplementary charges for port terminal canals

Today, I will use the simplest language to tell you about the surcharges imposed by the port, wharf, and canal authorities. The canal authority adds a surcharge to the ship owner based on each vessel’s net Suez tonnage and the canal rate table, and the owner collects this fee from the customer in the form of the Suez Canal Surcharge.

Everyone also knows that there are many types of shipping surcharges. In order to make up for their own losses in various aspects, the ship party has added a number of surcharges in various names. However, among the marine surcharges, some charges are imposed by the port, terminal, or canal authority. Do you understand this kind of cost? Today, I will use the simplest language to tell you about the surcharges imposed by the port, wharf, and canal authorities.

Notice to sellers: these kinds of additional charges on the port canal

Port Surcharge (PS)

In some ports, due to poor equipment conditions or low loading and unloading efficiency, as well as other reasons, the shipping company charges additional fees. It is generally calculated as a percentage of the freight, but some ports charge it per freight ton. Each freight ton is calculated by the gross weight of the goods or by volume. The difference between it and the port congestion surcharge is that the port surcharge is relatively fixed.

Port Congestion Surcharge (PCS)

Due to the congestion of some unloading ports, the berthing time of ships at the port will increase, which will affect the operating costs of the shipping company. In order to make up for this part of the loss, the surcharge charged by the shipping company to the cargo party is the port congestion surcharge. This part of the fee is directly affected by the degree of port congestion. If the port returns to normal, this part of the fee will be cancelled, but the port congestion surcharge has been charged when the freight is prepaid and will not be refunded.

Terminal Handling Charge (THC)

Terminal operation fee refers to the fee charged by the port, terminal, and loading and unloading company to the carrier to receive the exported container at the loading port yard, store it and transport it to the side of the ship, which includes the container cargo during the terminal period. All loading and unloading, translation, hoisting and hoisting costs and corresponding labor costs. According to the port of departure and the port of destination, the terminal operation fee can be divided into two types: the terminal operation fee at the departure port (OTHC) and the terminal operation fee at the destination port (DTHC).

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

International express should not be ignored

International express is the delivery channel that many foreign trade and cross-border e-commerce sellers will choose, but everyone must pay attention to the following matters when sending international express to avoid unnecessary trouble and loss.

Do not ignore these things when sending international express
Do not ignore these things when sending international express

1. When sending express mail, it should be written in English in detail, accurately and accurately, and the handwriting is clear.

2. The return address should be detailed and accurate, and try to provide a phone number so that you can contact in time when there is a problem with the express delivery.

3. Parcel express does not include cash, dangerous goods and other prohibited items listed in national laws and relevant regulations, as well as items prohibited by the carrier from express delivery. For example, some courier companies do not carry sensitive items such as food and medicines.

4. In order to ensure the smooth customs clearance of delivery, please use English to declare to the customs in detail and truthfully in the corresponding column, the name of the goods, the quantity, the weight, the declared value, and the place of origin, etc. At the same time, any additional item expressions should be completed in English. In triplicate (must have at least one), or may cause delays in customs clearance.

5. International express delivery involves the entry customs tax of the destination country. Different overseas countries have different tax bases and standards. When you send international express, you usually need to fill in the goods list and the value of the goods. The value of this cargo requires you to be familiar with the customs thresholds of different countries. It is very important to carry out reasonable customs declaration according to different countries and the size and weight of the package.

6. Choose a professional international express company, which can not only provide free carton packaging, but also help you strengthen the packaging, free vacuuming, reduce the volume, and reduce the corresponding shipping costs, saving the customer's worry and effort throughout the entire process. Help customers Peace of mind.

7. If the delivery problem is which one of the four major international express delivery or EMS is used, you can choose the first-level agent of the four major international express delivery and EMS, and use the agency price for transportation, the price is low, and there are more choices.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Say something you don’t know about European air freight!

I believe that many cross-border e-commerce sellers engaged in the European market will have the experience of shipping from domestic to foreign countries. Maybe some people are planning to transport their goods by air, but they are hesitant because they do not know enough about European air transportation. . It doesn't matter, now you can get a more comprehensive understanding of European air freight through the following points of cold/hot knowledge.

Say something you don't know about European air freight!
Say something you don't know about European air freight!

First of all, the cost of air transportation is relatively high. There are fixed flight routes from China to Europe, and it takes about 10 days. The longer air transportation time is because the airlines will round up or arrange some bulk cargoes in order to save transportation costs, which will delay some time. This mode of transportation is a little slower than direct express delivery, but the overall timeliness is still faster compared to ocean and rail transportation. If you use the Amazon FBA head-way service, the air express is usually reserved without reservation, which reduces a lot of trouble.

Air transport flights are divided into direct flights and transfer flights. A direct flight refers to a direct flight from the origin station to the destination station without transit. For example, Guangzhou China Southern Airlines flies directly to London. Transfer refers to the need to transfer more than one way from the origin station to the destination station. For example, China Eastern Airlines taking off from Guangzhou needs to fly back to Shanghai for transfer. Diversion flights are generally due to air rights issues to fly back to the local area for transfer or stopover. The difference between the two is that non-stop flights have higher stability, and the stability of connecting flights is relatively lower than that of direct flights, but the price of connecting flights generally has an advantage.

There is also a case of air charter flights, mainly including Liege Airport (LGG) in Belgium and London Thyro Airport (LHR) in the United Kingdom. Generally, this type of flight is a direct flight, so the stability of the flight is high. But at the same time, such flights also have disadvantages. For example, if the inspection is not timely, the flight cannot be boarded, and the flight density is not high, which will delay the shipment until the next week, resulting in problems with the timeliness. On the back end, there will also be delays in the timeliness due to the accumulation of a large number of goods, and at the same time, there may be misclassification of goods and lost pieces after unpacking.

European air freight declaration elements:

For domestic export declaration and foreign import customs clearance, detailed cargo information needs to be provided to the customs broker/clearance bank to declare export/import. The requirements for the declaration elements corresponding to each customs code are different, but in general the following are essential: Product name , Customs code, material, brand, type, ingredient content. We hereby remind all cross-border e-commerce sellers that the declaration elements should be as detailed and clear as possible. Detailed declaration elements will reduce the probability of inspection.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Shipping delays still at peak levels

Shipping delays still at peak levels
Shipping delays still at peak levels

Delays in container shipments from Asia increased in the first quarter. Shipping data released by supply chain platform company E2open shows that in the first quarter of 2022, the total time from booking to receipt for global shipping will be the same as in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Take a company as an example. In April this year, after booking space with liner operators, it took an average of 73 days to complete the shipping process of goods, which was 9 days longer than the average of last year. It should be pointed out that one-third of the additional time from booking to customs clearance at the destination port is due to delays at the origin port, while delays due to supply chain congestion account for 44%.

While the global average on-time ship was unchanged from the previous quarter, there were more delays on outbound routes. Among them, the Asia to North America route, the transit time increased from 77 days in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 80 days. Despite a slight drop in bookings, transit times have increased by five days since last quarter as ships continue to wait longer for berths, E2open said. While transit times on the Asia to Europe route decreased by 2 days to 79 days, it was still a fifth of the time compared to the same period in 2021. Actual shipping days from Asia and Europe to North America have increased by 5 and 4 days, respectively, since last quarter.

Currently, the biggest impact on the transportation market is the cost of fuel, which directly affects the economics of ocean transportation and indirectly pushes up global commodity prices.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

From May 1st, China’s coal imports will be “zero tariff”?

From May 1st, China's coal imports will be "zero tariff"?
From May 1st, China's coal imports will be "zero tariff"?

In order to strengthen the guarantee of energy supply and promote high-quality development, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council has decided in accordance with procedures that from May 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023, a provisional import tax rate of zero will be imposed on coal.

According to the schedule of the announcement, the provisional import tax rate of zero will be implemented this time for imported coal that originally implemented the most-favored-nation tax rate of 3%, 5% or 6%.

According to Shanghai Securities News, at present, the largest source country of my country's coal imports is Indonesia. According to the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between the People's Republic of China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Import and Export Tariff (2021), the currently applicable tax rate is 0.

The most-favored-nation tax rate applies to coal imported from Russia, Mongolia, and Canada from other import source countries, and the tax rate varies according to different coal types. After Australia cut coal exports to China last year, Russia became my country's second-biggest coal importer after Indonesia.

A number of industry insiders said that under the scenario of high international coal prices, the tariff policy will have a limited impact on the import coal market in the short term, and may have a certain impact on the long-term supply.

According to Guosheng Securities, the current FOB price of 4600 kcal thermal coal in Russia is about US$149.8/ton. If the tariff is reduced from 6% to zero, the CIF duty payment cost will be reduced from 1430 yuan/ton to about 1350 yuan/ton. The domestic quotation of 5000 kcal thermal coal is 950-980 yuan / ton, and the price of nearly 400 yuan / ton is still upside down.

China's seaborne coking coal mainly comes from Russia, the United States, and Canada. The current price of coking coal shipped to China plus freight is about US$515/ton. If the tariff is reduced from 3% to zero tariff, the duty-paid cost will be reduced from 3965 yuan/ton to 3855 yuan/ton .

The first-line quotation of coking coal in Jingtang Port in China is 3500-3600 yuan / ton, and the price of 250-350 yuan / ton is still upside down.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that last year, China produced 4.07 billion tons of raw coal and imported 323 million tons of coal, an increase of 6.6% year-on-year. The import volume exceeded 300 million tons for the second consecutive year. The coal import dependence was 7.3%, an increase of 0.05 percentage points year-on-year.

According to Qinhuangdao Coal Network, under the circumstance that coal imports are expected to decrease, the relevant ministries and commissions of the state have organized a mid- and long-term contract to supplement the emergency guarantee for imported coal. The amount of mid- and long-term contracts signed is 158 million tons, accounting for about 49% of the country's coal imports in 2021, and the vacancy of nearly half of the total imports has been guaranteed by the policy.

In order to ensure the stable supply of domestic coal and other energy sources, some provinces in southeastern and southern China have also relaxed customs clearance restrictions on imported coal, and the customs clearance procedures of the new process have been significantly simplified.

The previous Indonesian coal import policy requires that, except for Guangdong, other South China ports need to provide terminal purchase contract endorsement. Now Guangxi has fully liberalized the customs clearance of Indonesian coal imports, and Fujian has partially liberalized. This is conducive to the rapid entry of Indonesian coal, which is intended to encourage traders to import customs clearance.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs, coal imports in March 2022 were 16.423 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 39.9%; in the first quarter, coal imports totaled 51.812 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 24.2%.

Zhang Jianhong, a senior engineer at China International Engineering Consulting Co., Ltd., said that the current high price of overseas coal is the main reason for inhibiting the growth of imports. The implementation of a provisional import tax rate of zero for all coal this time will help reduce import costs and expand the import of coal resources. It is the coal import from Mongolia, Russia, Canada and other countries, which can better ensure the supply, guide the downstream coal industry to reduce coal consumption, and promote the transformation, upgrading and high-quality development of the coal industry. However, until the international energy prices fall, it is expected that coal imports will be difficult to increase significantly.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

U.S.-West Port labor negotiations are imminent

U.S.-West Port labor negotiations are imminent
U.S.-West Port labor negotiations are imminent

Labor negotiations are imminent, and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), which represents shipping companies and terminal operators, has released a research report that counts the benefits of port automation, but the trade unions (ILWU, International Longshore and Warehouse Union, American International The Terminals and Warehousing Alliance) argues that productivity gains from port automation have exacerbated employment imbalances.

The study, commissioned by PMA and conducted by UC Berkeley public policy professor Michael Nacht, was released on May 2. According to Michael Nacht and Larry Henry, founder of Container Trac, automation is good for the competitiveness and growth of ports on the U.S. West Coast. At 13 container terminals in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, automation benefits trade, the environment and workers, providing more jobs, the study said.

On the employee side, ILWU workers have increased their paid hours at automated terminals in Los Angeles and Long Beach by 31.5 percent since 2015, the last year of the transition to automated operations, more than double the rate at non-automated terminals, the data shows. ILWU's registered labor force in Los Angeles and Long Beach grew 11.2 percent, compared with 8.4 percent at the other 27 West Coast ports.

In trade, automation has halved container handling time since 2019. Terminals can handle 44 percent more containers per acre than non-automated terminals because automated vehicles and cranes can stack containers higher and denser and transport them more efficiently by trucks and trains. Michael Nacht said: “Higher terminal throughput can provide more port-related jobs and increase employment across the supply chain. If the trend of automation is not kept up, cargo will be diverted to other ports, resulting in terminal and Job losses across the region.” PMA chief executive Jim McKenna said in an interview last month: “The Covid-19 pandemic and the surge in cargo have proven that automated terminals are much more efficient than traditional terminals. As these terminals With a lot of cargo being handled, they actually provide more jobs for dockworkers as well.”

However, these conclusions were not endorsed by the ILWU, and union representative Frank Ponce De Leon responded that the report did not take into account workers who lost their jobs due to the introduction of automated machinery, and that the increase in container throughput at automated terminals was also reflected in the apparent decline in throughput at other terminals. costly and will result in job losses.

The PMA has long campaigned for the introduction of automation in the terminals but has been criticised by the international terminal ILWU. Negotiations between the PMA and the ILWU will take place on May 12 to develop new labor contracts for the 22,000 West Coast dockworkers due July 1.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

How to Calculate Multimodal Import Dutiable Value

How to Calculate Multimodal Import Dutiable Value
How to Calculate Multimodal Import Dutiable Value

The concept of international multimodal transport

The United Nations Convention on International Multimodal Transport of Goods defines international multimodal transport as, in accordance with the international multimodal transport contract, at least two different modes of transport, the multimodal transport operator takes over the goods from the territory of a country. Carriage of goods to a designated delivery point within another country. The "Maritime Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that domestic multimodal transport is: there must be a way of shipping. For international multimodal transport goods, the carrier issues a full transport document, also known as a multimodal transport bill of lading.

With the continuous development of China's economy, more and more goods enter my country's inland cities by multimodal transport. Inland transport has become an important component of multimodal transport, and inland freight also exists as part of the entire freight rate. . In reality, there are confusions about whether the freight in the inland section of multimodal transport is deducted and how to deduct it.

Is the freight for inland section related to the import dutiable value?

According to Article 3 of the "Guidelines for Valuation of Imported Maritime Transportation and Related Expenses" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines"), the inclusion of transportation and related expenses into the dutiable value of imported goods shall satisfy the following three conditions: first, it is related to transportation; second It should be calculated until the goods arrive at the import point within the territory of the People's Republic of China before unloading; the third is actually paid by the buyer and should be paid.

According to the nature of the freight for the inland section of the import transit, the above conditions are marked one by one: First, the freight of the inland section is indeed related to transportation, and the conditions are met; second, the conditions are not met before the loading and unloading at the domestic import point - take the sea port as an example , when the trunk line means of transport enters the country (the demarcation point of "before unloading"), that is, the branch line transportation from the sea port to the inland point, after the loading and unloading; the third is the actual payment by the buyer, which should be paid, which needs to be based on specific trade terms. to judge.

According to Article 5 of the "Guidelines", there are two conditions for the identification before the arrival at the import location within the territory of the People's Republic of China. The place where the imported goods leave the means of transport for the first time; the other is before unloading, which refers to the beginning of the loading and unloading of goods.

The key point of the identification condition 1 is: the means of transport for international voyages and the imported goods leave the means of transport for the first time, which can be judged that the inland port where the goods are transported in the inland segment does not meet the definition of "input location"; the second identification condition mentions Pre-loading and unloading refers to the loading and unloading of goods transported in the inland section before the act of loading and unloading (international navigation means of transport), which does not meet the definition.

To sum up, according to Articles 3 and 5 of the Guidelines, the freight for the inland section is not included in the dutiable value.

/ By tjchinafreight ivy / Shipping

Saverys family blocks Euronav and frontline merger

The Saverys family has invested more than 33 million shares in Euronav in order to win proxies at Euronav's annual general meeting on May 19 to block the merger of Euronav and frontline.

As previously reported by Xinde Maritime.com, the ship king Frederickson hopes that Euronav and frontline will merge to create the largest oil tanker company in history, so as to counter market risks and expand the market influence of the fleet.

The Saverys family goes all out to build up their holdings

Saverys family blocks Euronav and frontline merger
Saverys family blocks Euronav and frontline merger

But Euronav's largest shareholder, the Saverys family, seems to have objections to this. It is reported that the Saverys family prefers Euronav to develop towards a green fleet, either not to merge or to merge with other companies. However, we can see from Euronav's investment ratio that although the Saverys family is the largest shareholder, its share of shares is far from the point where the family has a full say in the board of directors.

So, recently, the Saverys family used their other company, Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB), to increase its outstanding shares in Euronav to more than 16%.

Specifically, CMB's latest purchase of 33.25 million shares brought its share in Euronav to 16.49%, a significant increase from the 14.39% reported on April 14 and the 13.22% held earlier this month. CMB's stake also significantly exceeds Fredrickson's roughly 10 percent stake.

CMB chief executive Alexander Saverys is trying his best to persuade Euronav's shareholders to reject the merger with Frontline and to agree to a merger of Euronav and CMB.

In addition to this, the Saverys family have also publicly stated that they will seek to replace Euronav's board of directors, currently led by De Stoop, as the likes of De Stoop are on Frontline's side.

According to the latest CMB filing, the company will nominate Ludovic Saverys, Alexander's younger brother, to Euronav's board of directors. Ludovic is currently CMB's Chief Financial Officer. Two other CMB directors, Patrick De Brabandere and Bjarte Boe, are also among the board members to be elected.

In a letter to Euronav on Tuesday, the Saverys brothers said: "Euronav is at an important crossroads in its development, and as the world's largest independent crude oil tanker company has the opportunity and responsibility to think carefully about its long-term future and industry before setting its course. future. By proposing the appointment of three additional supervisory board members, we hope to enable the company to discuss various strategic options openly, comprehensively and fairly, taking into account the interests of all stakeholders.”

Approaching the right to gain "negative control"

As mentioned above, the Saverys family already owns about 16.5% of Euronav, which means that the family is getting close to negative control of the company - the stake must reach 25%.

Jørgen Lian, senior analyst at DNB Markets, said: “We can only speculate, but they (the Saverys family) are getting more and more shares, approaching 25%, which may mean they will gain negative control. But at the same time I also Think it's going to be more and more difficult for them to get more shares (to buy additional shares)."

According to the Financial Times, Alexander Saverys has told the outlet that he is working on a plan to block the announced merger of Euroav and Frontline. He said he "has more than one way".