TARIFFS

SoCal ports could fine carriers for tardy containers by Nov. 15

Aerial view of containers stacked at a port.

Port authorities in Los Angeles and Long Beach plan to start assessing and collecting late fees on loaded import containers that remain on the docks for extended periods as soon as Nov. 15. The information was disclosed in agendas for emergency meetings of the respective harbor commissions on Friday.

The boards will vote on plans submitted by port staff to charge ocean carriers $100 per day, increasing in $100 increments per container per day, for containers scheduled to move locally by truck...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/socal-ports-could-fine-carriers-for-tardy-containers-by-nov-15

DTC logistics provider FlavorCloud seeks to demystify global networks for e-commerce brands

Global e-commerce is enabling direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands to sell their products in hundreds of countries at a time. Shipping those goods, though, can be problematic with tariffs and duties, various tax rates and currency conversion issues.

Shopify’s Oberlo brand estimates that 2.14 billion people will shop online in 2021 and Statista said that the average order value for an international sale is $147, a 17% premium over the average domestic sale for a U.S.-based seller. It also found that...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dtc-logistics-provider-flavorcloud-seeks-to-demystify-global-networks-for-e-commerce-brands

Major Retailers Struggle With Surging Transportation And Tariff Costs

As Home Depot heads into its busy spring project season – when shoppers build backyard decks and buy patio furniture – it is tangling with surging costs for goods and transportation, on top of tariffs that cost it and other U.S. importers billions of dollars, reports Reuters.

The pressure 

Across the United States, major retailers and makers of everything from Peloton spin bikes and La-Z-Boy recliners to Kia Sorrento SUVs are battling the same profit-squeezing pressures. They pass those costs...

https://mfame.guru/major-retailers-struggle-with-surging-transportation-and-tariff-costs/

How trade policies affect retailers — Point of Sale

Point of Sale header

Every piece of the retail supply chain ultimately has to bow to trade policies and tariffs enacted by overseeing governments. On this episode of Point of Sale, host Andrew Cox explores the ins and outs of U.S. policy with retail analyst, Forbes contributor and former American Apparel & Footwear Association President Rick Helfenbein. 

The Trump administration put several policies into place that severely impacted the retail industry. One of the earliest was the Chinese 301 tariffs, which were...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-trade-policies-affect-retailers-point-of-sale

Intra-Asia disruption threatening Vietnam’s factories and export growth

Factories in Vietnam and southern China are working through their lunar new year holidays to catch up with production backlogs.
But getting goods to market is a challenge, thanks to bottlenecks in shipping capacity.
For Vietnam, the problem is more pronounced, as it also threatens the inbound flow of raw materials for manufacturing, which could slow the country’s meteoric rise and force some sourcing back to China, warned Akhil Nair, VP global …

The post Intra-Asia disruption threatening...

https://theloadstar.com/intra-asia-disruption-threatening-vietnams-factories-and-export-growth/

Raimondo vows to pursue pro-worker industrial, climate policies

Mug shot of Commerce Secretary-designate Gina Raimondo with container vessel image in background.

Gina Raimondo will play a significant role implementing President Biden’s economic and trade agenda for lifting up the working class if the U.S. Senate, as expected, confirms her as secretary of commerce. 

Lawmakers view her as a steady hand who will return the department to many of its traditional roles supporting business in stark contrast to predecessor Wilbur Ross, the billionaire businessman who mostly disappeared in the second half of the Trump administration after initially pushing...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/raimondo-vows-to-pursue-pro-worker-industrial-climate-policies

Regulator to review Port of Melbourne’s application to alter fees

Picture: by 3D Animation Production Company and Pixabay

Fees related to exports could be reduced and fees related to some imports could be increased in Victoria, the Essential Services Commission has indicated, following an application by the Port of Melbourne to change its tariffs.

The tariff re-balancing relates to wharfage fees on certain full containers. All other prescribed services will be adjusted by inflation in 2021-22, in accordance with the Tariff Adjustment Limit.

The Port of...

https://shippingaustralia.com.au/regulator-to-review-port-of-melbournes-application-to-alter-fees/

2016 vote sparked fireworks for shipping stocks. Repeat in 2020?

stock exchanges

The surprise election of Donald Trump in 2016 sent shockwaves through the global shipping community. It also sent U.S.-listed shipping stocks soaring. Pricing and volumes went completely haywire. In a matter of days, some shares rose ten or twentyfold. Some volumes rose fiftyfold.

Could this year’s presidential election spark similar tumult for shipping equities?

The morning after (the last election)

Early on Nov. 9, 2016, the morning after the last presidential election, shipping financiers,...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/2016-election-sparked-shipping-stock-fireworks-repeat-in-2020

Ag exporters grapple with COVID, trade war, political unknowns

farm agriculture exports pork

It’s a recipe for trouble: COVID disruptions are pulling refrigerated containers away from food production areas. Twice this year, outbreaks stymied U.S. food shipments to China. Tariffs are still taking a bite out of ag sales. Trade tensions with China remain high. Trade negotiations with the EU are intensifying. And the presidential election could reset the entire equation in less than two weeks.

To put the myriad issues faced by U.S. food exporters in perspective, FreightWaves interviewed...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/food-shippers-grapple-with-covid-trade-war-political-unknowns

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