Trade

The Port of Los Angeles posted another record performance in February 2022 breaking its own record, handling 857,764 TEUs which is an increase of...

The risk of war is nothing new to the shipping, freight and maritime industry, having navigated through many of these situations.. Many charter parties include...

This is the Annual Review of the shipping and freight industry in 2021 by Shipping and Freight Resource.. This is an in depth look into what transpired in our industry in 2021 in terms of the maritime and global trade, shipping and freight practices, Global Shipping Alliances, Carriers and their profits and mostly about the disruptions surrounding supply chain.. Welcome to The View from the Top..

Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica will be the new head of UNCTAD, the United Nations trade and development body. Her nomination to the post by UN Secretary-General António Guterres was approved on 11 June by the UN General Assembly.

Ms. Grynspan, a Costa Rican economist and former vice president of the Central American nation becomes the first woman and Central American to be appointed secretary-general of the UN’s trade and development body. Ms.Grynspan is the current Ibero-American secretary-general.

In one my previous articles, I explained the Difference between Demurrage and Detention..

After reading this, a few of my readers have asked me to explain the causes of demurrage and detention..

There are several reasons a container(s) can incur demurrage and/or detention or combined demurrage and detention.. Here are some of the major reasons..

The Electronic Cargo Tracking Note (ECTN), also known as Bordereau de Suivi Cargaison (BSC) and other names depending on the country, is an official marine document that contains information relating to the cargo and its movement between ports.

This document is required to be submitted to the shippers’ councils in most countries of Africa. Every cargo exported to these countries, whether it is commercial, personal or charity, must have this ECTN certificate.

Chartering is an important concept of the global maritime trade sector and it consists of different types. One of the forms of carrying out a maritime business is a time charter. Under a time charter, the owners undertake to place their ship at the disposal of the charterers for a defined period of time for the carriage of goods in accordance with the charterer’s instruction, while the ship remains in both the ownership and possession of the owners, and the officers and crew who man her will be the employees of the owners, not the charterers. In this article we are going to look at some particulars of time charters and, in particular, New York Produce Exchange Form 1993 (NYPE 1993) recommended by BIMCO and FONASBA.

Many journalists and Twitteratis around the world might be having withdrawal symptoms after the Ever Given has been refloated from being stuck diagonally across...

Competition is one of the constants in business, something that can spur you on and make you better or something that can bring you down..

Every industry has competition in varying degrees.. Some companies look at their competition and say "Yeah ok, whatever" (think Google/Facebook).. Some companies look at their competition and say "Oh crap, that's close" - like a lot of companies in the shipping and freight industry..

While competition comes in various forms, there are several cases where you may really struggle to find a way to stand out from your competition..

Let me explain further with some examples relatable to the shipping and freight industry..

The World Trade Organization has officially selected Dr.Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian economist and former finance minister, to be its next chief making her the first woman and the first African to lead the World Trade Organisation.

February 11, 2021. : Chinese quarantine measures are grounding truckers, just as maritime carriers are clearing out backlogs. The Chinese New Year is exacerbating COVID-19-related...

With the dropping out of South Korea’s Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee from the race for Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the path is now clear for Nigerian economist and former Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to become the first woman and the first African to lead the World Trade Organisation.

Okonjo-Iweala, has been favoured by many WTO members, including the European Union, China, Japan and Australia to become the 7th Director-General of WTO.

The continent of Africa comprises of 55 countries with about 1.35 billion people (16.72% of the global population) calling it home. The continent has a combined GDP of more than $3.4 trillion, a vast untapped potential and some of the fastest growing economies of the world.

But trade within the African continent is the lowest globally with more trade done from Africa outwards rather than inward.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement which started as a journey over four decades ago with the adoption of the Monrovia Strategy in 1979, the Lagos Plan of Action in 1980, the Abuja Treaty in 1991 and subsequent Decisions and Declarations adopted during various summits has finally come to fruition with the commencement of trading as of the 1st January 2021.

Anup Rampiar takes a look at what is AfCFTA and what it means for South Africa and the African continent in general.

- Is there a connection between Incoterms® and the shipping line..??
- Should Shipping Lines be concerned with Incoterms®..??
- How does Incoterms® affect the shipping line..??
These are few of the questions raised by readers who have complained that their booking was on FCA, FOB, CIF etc but the carrier refuses to show this commercial information on the bill of lading.. Commercial information includes details about the Incoterms®..

Executive Insights is a series by Shipping and Freight Resource that provides insights and thoughtful analysis about the industry..

This series features selected individuals from the industry and is aimed at enriching the knowledge of the readers with what is happening in the shipping, freight, maritime, logistics, and supply chain industry..

Executive Insights also gives you a chance to pick the brains of these industry veterans, leaders, and enablers..

In this edition of Executive Insights, we caught up with Jan Hoffmann Chief, Trade Logistics Branch of UNCTAD, on what drives Trade Logistics and how UNCTAD is enabling trade and helping various countries achieve their full potential..

A question from a reader about an issue with a certification agency which lead to the reader's containers being stopped by customs in China.. Comments welcome..

Carriers struggle to cope with equipment shortages as transshipment ports see an increase in October cargo rollovers, reveals the latest Ocean Insights data.

Strong demand for container shipping space on major trade lanes from Asia to Europe and North America saw cargo rollovers increase month-on-month in October as carriers struggled to keep ocean supply chains operating smoothly.

Over the years, I have received several queries from readers around the world asking for my opinion and advice on situations relating to shipping and freight fraud..

Many have been duped by forwarders, taken for a ride by shippers and intermediaries, made to pay double so on and so forth..

Here are six safeguards to follow against some of these shipping and freight fraud..

To many customers around the world, demurrage and detention costs represent some of the most expensive fees that they will incur in the process of a trade transaction..

Although demurrage and detention are not standard charges that are applicable on every shipment, there are many shipments on which these charges are levied..

They are probably two terms that top the list of controversial charges levied by shipping lines on customers..

The seriousness of demurrage and detention charges is evident when you consider that EVERY shipment has the potential to incur both these charges during loading and unloading..

Demurrage and Detention really are avoidable costs and it is something that can be defeated with data..

Learn exactly how, in a webcast which focuses on ways and means customers can reduce and/or avoid demurrage and detention charges through the effective usage of data..

Tenders are an integral part of shipping and freight for the carrier, BCOs and OTI (freight forwarder or NVOCC)..

I headlined this article as "the art of handling a freight tender" because majority of the tenders are quite complicated and capable of pushing people over the edge due to its complexity with its tight deadlines and the nearly impossible task of compacting the costs..

People in our industry who have handled some complicated global freight tenders such as the ones floated by global companies will understand what I am talking about..

So how does the whole thing work and how does a tender influence or impact on a carrier and/or freight forwarder and their business.. Is it really an art..??