WHY HAVE CONTAINER GROSS MASS VERIFICATIONS BEEN IMPLEMENTED INTO SOLAS? To protect overall safety at sea which includes the safety of ships, cargo, shore side workers and ships’ crews by ensuring that all containers have their gross mass verified prior to being loaded on board a vessel.
In the wake of recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, attention is again being called to the security of the world's transportation systems. Concerns about port security, airport security and the inspection of cargo being transported on planes, trucks and ships have been at the forefront of the industry for a number of years. In 2012, the Obama administration failed to meet its goal of inspecting 100% of incoming container freight when it arrives at US ports. The government pushed this deadline back to 2016 - which is now upon us.
1. Plan your warehouse layout with sales in mind. Your most popular items probably likely change with the seasons, so re-slot your warehouse to accommodate your expected sales, and review the plan at least once every season. This can reducing unnecessary travel for your order pickers, improving efficiency, saving money and decreasing the chances of product damage or safety issues. Many warehouse management systems even have dynamic layout tools which can help you with this kind of planning.
Though it's been a mild winter so far for most of the country, it is definitely winter. Making sure that your company and supply chain are prepared for winter storms is important to ensuring that your clients remain happy and your employees and assets remain safe. While we typically discuss topics specifically related to freight and logistics in our blog, this post can apply to all types of businesses.
We talk a lot about how to help reduce freight damage claims when preparing your shipments for transit, but often, protecting product while it's being stored in your facility is overlooked. To that end, we've asked some experts for a few tips on reducing damage to product at your warehouse, and wanted to share these few tips with you.
With 2015 officially over, some of our clients are already wondering what to expect in 2016 when it comes to freight rates. There are several factors that lend themselves to a decrease in freight costs which can help shippers to increase their bottom lines. First, the worldwide fleet of containerships that are idle and not sailing as frequently as they could be is at an all time high. Carriers are finally taking action when it comes to rates to address the global circumstances. Between now and the summer peak season, ocean freight rates may decrease.
For the US Postal Service, today (12/15/15) is the last day that standard shipping services will make your package arrive in time for Christmas. In the freight world, similar deadlines are here. Standard LTL service can take 5 - 8 business days from coast to coast, which means that shipments headed to retailers, wholesalers and distributors who want to make that product available to buyers in time for Christmas must be on trucks soon.
Last week, rail carrier Norfolk Southern rejected a $28.1 billion acquisition offer by Canadian Pacific Railway. Norfolk did not solicit the offer, and rejected it on the grounds that Canadian Pacific's interest level is “grossly inadequate, creates substantial regulatory risks and uncertainties that are highly likely to be overcome,”. Canadian Pacific feels that an acquisition would make sense for several reasons - including attractive results for shareholders of Norfolk Southern's investors.
Earlier this week, Canadian Pacific released the following statement:
While you might not hear about cargo theft on the news very often, it's happening all the time. Cargo trucks or trains with branded goods like consumer electronics, are attacked as often as once per week around the world. Many of these events occur in Asia or the Middle East, and separately, in Italy as part of organized crime. In both cases, thieves often use heavy weapons and threats of violence to hijack freight. Cargo theft surged over 300% from 2008 to 2014, raising alarm bells around the global logistics industry.
If you have overseas customers, chances are that you are very savvy when it comes to the process of exporting goods from the USA. For other companies who might be considering selling to customers Internationally, duties and taxes can be confusing and unnerving. After talking to many of our customers, the GlobalForwarding.com team identified that not understanding the import process is one of the main reasons companies sometimes hesitate to start selling product to overseas customers. This short article will provide you with an overview of what’s involved!
