The transportation industry is vitally important to the global and American economy. The transportation services have been greatly affected by COVID 19. It does not matter if you are looking at Ocean Freight Services, Air freight, Inland transportation or Even Package delivery. Every part of the transportation sector has been affected.

Let us start by looking at Ocean Freight Services . At the time of writing this article, ocean freight rates from China to the East Coast ports in the USA are at an all time high of around $20,000 for a 40′ Container. You would be lucky to find space. Then comes the booking roll overs because the vessel was over booked, the congestion at the port, etc..

Then when the containers arrive at the port of destination, you are faced with port congestion, delays at availability of container and then off course the availability of truckers to handle the drayage to your warehouse. In Miami, in some cases, there is no availability for truckers for two weeks. A congestion fees is being charged by most truckers because the ports are requiring truckers to make appointments to pick up the containers.

Freight forwarders in general are struggling with the delays at the port, angry customers are rising drayage costs. Some truckers are charging $200 per hour for waiting time. The situation does not seem to be getting any better, on the contrary, it is getting worse.

Now let us talk about Inland Transportation Services . America’s trucking industry is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy. Nearly every good consumed in the U.S. is put on a truck at some point. As a result, the trucking industry hauled 72.5% of all freight transported in the United States.

Recently, we have been experiencing many issues pertaining to pick up and delivery of goods. As an example, common carriers miss the scheduled pick up appointments on regular basis due to lack of capacity. Here is a message from dispatch of one of the major carriers ” The carrier is currently handling a back log. They are working as fast as they can to get freight picked up ” .

And finally let us mention the chaos in the courier delivery companies. I will point out a few issues that we have been experiencing: Courier companies are losing packages. I was personally involved in 3 different occasion where i handed the packages to one of the major courier companies only to find out that the packages were lost. Let me also mention how the packages are not picked up on time not to mentions the excessive damages. As a 3PL Company, we are directly affected by all of the issues in the transportation industry. There are a lot of work stoppage to resolve issues or deal with angry customers. The end result is the rising cost of doing business.

Resources

POP Freight

Miami Freight Forwarders

Logistics Companies

The new trade wars and tariffs imposed by the US and China left many importers in the US looking for answers. Nobody wants to pay higher duties which translates into higher prices to the consumers. Which will result in consumers cutting down on their purchases.

In general, blanket tariffs are counterproductive. Nobody benefits from such practices. It reduces customer confidence.

In the wake of the new tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese products,  importers found themselves forced to increase their prices to offset the increase on the duties being paid or to switch to importing similar products from other countries that are not subject to the new tariffs.

The latest currency devaluation by the Chinese Government has in a way offset the last round of tariffs however; consumer confidence has been affected as customers perceive the trade wars as a sign of instability.

How will the new Tariffs affect Logistics.

1- “Logistics Companies” pay close attention to tariffs as it affects the supply chain. They have to be ready to offer new solutions to their customers. Many International 3PL Companies are seeing an increase in imports from China as Importers build up their Inventories before the Holiday season and before the new tariffs take effect.

2- Freight Forwarders  have noticed and increase in Ocean Freight Shipping from Vietnam and other Countries. It is noted that Chinese companies are shipping their products from Vietnam to avoid paying the additional duties.

3- US Companies who re-export some of their products have opted to shipping directly from China to South America for Example.

4- Companies who Export to South America are using the services of Bonded warehouses to hold their product in bond  instead of paying the extra duties until the product is exported.

5- Importing companies are getting better at negotiating Freight rates in order to compensate for some of the extra duties they might be paying.

The Bottom line about the New Tariffs

In spite of all the hype, we still see more container ships being built, we see shipping volumes increase across the world. The US trade deficit rose by 50 Billion even though the export volume has increased. That means more cargo is entering the US Market which means more cargo is moving to the US ports.

Experiences 3PL Companies are prepared to tackle such issues and advise their customers on the best strategy to adopt.

Resourses:

Freight Forwarders in Miami

International Freight Forwarders

Warehousing Services in Miami

A historic trade pact has been reached between the European Union and Four South American Countries, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The trade pact that was signed on Friday, June 28th, 2019 would create a trade block of 780 million people representing a quarter of the world’s economy.

In the midst of international tensions, this trade pact comes in as a victory for EU leaders who have been defending free trade and a win for the government of South America’s 2 most closed markets, Brazil and Argentina.

Impact of Trade Pact

This pact will merge 2 blocks with a total of over 20 trillion dollars of economic output. The deal will create huge opportunities for exporters in the EU. This will help struggling economies in the EU such as Greece.

With this deal, the EU beat its international rivals in securing access to the Latin American Markets. This pact will help spur economic growth in South American Countries.

Brazil and Argentina are in mining and agricultural commodities, beef and dairy products.

This pact is supported by Spain, Portugal and free trade champions however; some countries such as France and Belgium have voiced concerns about the deal. France is concerned about compliance with the Paris climate change agreement.

Some EU farming countries are worried about the impact to their Farming and Agricultural industries.

This pact will also help other types of businesses flourish on both side of the Atlantic. Once of the businesses that would see large increase in volume is the shipping industry. Shipping Companies in Europe will, no doubt benefit from such an Agreement.

International 3PL, with its offices on both sides of the Atlantic, are preparing to meet the demand of the expected growth.

Resources:

Shipping to South America

Shipping from Europe to South America

Contract Logistics Companies in Europe

Procurement is the processing of acquiring new products or services. It is a fancy name for obtaining or getting. The phrase has been used mostly by the Military. It took a new meaning once it became part of the supply chain and logistics arena.

Products could be procured or acquired locally or internationally. For a business to continue to thrive it has to constantly look for new products. The demand for new products by consumers continues to put pressure on companies to reach out to various manufacturers all over the world for new products.

International 3PL Procurement Services

As a Third Party Logistics Company, International 3PL, through its contract logistics division has decided to offer procurement services at no charge for its existing Order Fulfillment clients.

Let us assume that you are a company based in Colorado who handles distribution of cellular phone accessories and you are looking for new cutting edge technology, most likely you would search the Internet for new vendors from all over the world.

Most likely, you will strike gold and find what your looking for. In this case we can assist you in the  Freight Forwarding part of the shipment, customs clearance and delivery to your own warehouse or our warehouse.

In other cases, you are not that lucky and you can not find the right product. This is where we come in. We will source the product for you, make sure is what you are looking for and help you negotiate the agreement with your vendor.

The Logistics of Procurement

• We will find the product you need.
• Verify it matches the specifications you have spelled out
• Make sure the source is legitimate and in compliance with al local and international regulations.
• Make sure that the product is labeled according to requirement.
• If needed we can oversee the financial transaction.
• Arrange for Ocean or Air shipping, customs clearance and compliance.
• If asked, we can get involved with dispute resolution.

Our Contract logistics division located at 3500 NW 114th Avenue has been offering procurement services successfully to many of the local businesses.

resources:

Contract Logistics

4PL Companies

Freight Forwarders in Miami

What is a Contract Logistics

Contract logistics companies handle activities that include but not limited to the design and planning of supply chains, designing facilities, warehousing, transporting and distributing goods, order processing ,  managing inventory and even providing certain aspects of customer service. and collections

Supply Chain Activities involve transportation, customs clearance, and warehousing activities in one or more locations in the entire network. Contract Logistics make up an integral part of the supply Chain. Global operations are the way to go 

While some companies manage their own logistics, others find it more efficient to outsource to specialized contract logistics companies to manage their logistics for them. 
Normally in Logistics, the frond end of the businesses would be the Freight Forwarders, Transport Companies and Warehousing Service Providers. In many cases Freight Forwards own and manage warehousing facilities too.

While Freight Forwarding is an important function of 3PL Service providers to facilitate the Supply Chain, another equally important function managed by 3PL Logistics Companies is Contract Logistics.

Under the broad umbrella of Contract Logistics, 3PL providers provide services of setting up consolidation centers, distribution centers, warehouses and inventory management services.

Our customized fulfillment logistics allow our customers the complete outsourcing of their product management. It is our goal as a logistics service provider to combine all related logistics functions along the supply chain of our customers in an efficient and reduce the cost along the way.

At International 3PL, we customize solutions to your individual needs and adapt constantly to keep pace with your changing markets.