TACA FUEL SURCHARGE TO HOLD AT CURRENT RATES
The Trans-Atlantic Conference Agreement said Friday that its bunker adjustment factor will be unchanged through May 15 at the following levels:

  • To/From and via Atlantic/Gulf Coast ports will charged $423 per TEU and $846 per FEU

  • To/From and via Pacific Coast ports will be charged $635 per TEU and $1,270 per FEU

    • After May 16, the TACA bunker adjustment will be announced with at least 30 days notice.

     
    PIER PASS INCREASES TRAFFIC MITIGATION FEE
    Starting April 3, importers / exporters moving containers in and out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach during daytime weekday hours will be charged $50 per TEU, rather than the $40 they had been charged since July 2005 under an extended gate hours plan.

    PierPass, the administrative organization set up by terminal operators in Los Angeles and Long Beach to collect the fees, announced the change today, saying that an audit of the program showed that the fee should be raised to cover the operators' actual costs.

    Additional information on the PierPass fee adjustment may be found in the document "TMF Adjustment Overview" available on the PierPass Web site.

     
    AIR ‚ CROWDED US SKIES IN 2006 ‚ SHIPPERS BE WARNED
      The FAA expects US skies to be more crowded this year, and that means more flight delays. For expedited air cargo be prepared to see weather radar threatening to slow air traffic along the route of your shipments.
     
    RENEWED PATRIOT ACT INCLUDES CARGO THEFT CATEGORY

    The U.S. Patriot Act, just renewed by Congress, places a new classification category, cargo theft, into the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) program, a data collection system used by law enforcement agencies nationwide.

    ìWith cargo theft as a category unto itself in the Uniform Crime Reporting program, companies as well as law enforcement will be able to track and measure the full size and scope of the problem,î said Randy Mullett, chairman of the International Cargo Security Councilís subcommittee for legislative affairs.

    ìOnce we get a more accurate portrayal of the seriousness of it, and can identify the major areas where cargo theft is taking place, weíll be able to better allocate the funds necessary to adequately ensure the security of the global supply chain,î Mullet explained.

     
    OVERLOADING OF CONTAINERS IN INDIA
    The Notification received from Bombay Chamber of Commerce is given below and will be effective immediately through-out India:

    "Please note that we now have no option but to follow the Court ruling and not move any loads heavier than the permitted 23 mt. We will not be in a position to transport containers already discharged at the terminals if they weigh more than 23 mt gross.

    Twenty footers with less than 11.5 mt and forty footers less than 23 mt gross will be handled as usual. Twenty footers heavier than 11.5 mt will not permit a second container on the trailer and will be charged extra. Any containers over 23 mt gross are not permitted on the roads.

    Stuffing of export cargo will be limited such that the gross weight of the containers does not go beyond the permitted. This may be circulated to all your outports and customers to avoid your containers getting stuck at the terminals."

     
    SECURITY - SECURING CARGO CAN BE DONE

    The technology to almost completely secure cargo exists, but few use it. The highest level of Radio Frequency ID (RFID) tags will report almost anything you wish them to: intrusions into a container, their location, what is in the pallet or container the tag is fixed to, the atmosphere nearby, temperature readings, whether any chemicals are present, and much more.

    Implementation of such systems has been delayed for a variety of reasons, including the cost of purchase and installation, the fact that such devices are not required by law, and the desire to balance the need for security with the need to keep the nation's commerce flowing, says William Corley, executive director of the International Cargo Security Council.

     
    TRADE - CARGO CLAIMS ON 1-IN-100 SHIPMENTS
    Getting an idea of how many goods are currently lost or damaged in transit is difficult to pin down because ocean freight insurers, shipping lines, ports, rail lines and trucking companies are not eager to advertise such statistics. Transit industry sources point out that the rate of loss or damage is low when you consider that most shipments are handled between 40 and 80 times during a move from an Asian factory to a US store.

    "What I see, based on my experience working with the big-box retailers, is that for every 100 containers, I would expect to have one claim," says Steve Ferreira, founder of Ocean Freight Refunds. "The claim could be for a loss, damage, shortage or pilferage, or even a hole in the container that causes damage to part of the shipment."

    "I'm noticing that a lot of my customers, more so than ever, are purchasing marine insurance to protect themselves.î The explanation for the trend has little to do with any increase in the number of goods getting lost or damaged. Instead, Ferreira believes it has more to do with price protection in the rare event something does go wrong.