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East & Gulf Coast Shippers
Face Difficult Decisions In Advance of ILA Contract Expiration
While shipper associations like the National Retail Federation urge the ILA and the USMX to return to the bargaining table, shippers across the US face difficult decisions in advance of the upcoming contract expiration. Many importers are already incurring extra costs to divert their cargo via alternate routings, absorbing longer transit times and building excess inventory to hedge against the risk of a strike.
Ports are also preparing for a potential strike. The Virginia Port Authority recently advised that it would move as much incoming cargo as possible through its terminals prior to the contract expiration. East & Gulf Coast ports further worry that some cargo may not return this year with shippers having executed on contingency plans that are difficult to reverse.
For more information regarding this matter, please contact your Liberty Account Representative. |
Brazil Announces Tariff Increases On 100 Products
On September 4, Brazil announced a list of products on which import duties will be increased to as much as 25% including chemical, pharmaceutical, steel and capital goods. Brazil's Foreign Trade Chamber has another increase planned for October on an additional 100 items.
The increases must be approved by other members of the Mercosur trade bloc and will then remain in place for at least one year. The move is designed to aid the country's struggling domestic manufacturers.
For more information regarding this matter, please contact your Liberty Account Representative. |
Carriers Further Reduce Service To The US East Coast
Carriers have begun to announce their winter schedules further reducing the number of services and capacity available to US markets, especially to the US East Coast, from Asia.
The Grand Alliance (NYK, OOCL and Hapag-Lloyd) and Zim have announced their plan to merge two of their joint Trans-Pacific services to the US East Coast into a single loop in October. The new single loop will continue through the winter until further notice. OOCL also announced that it would suspend a sailing of its Central China Express service during the upcoming National Holidays in China in October.
For more information regarding this matter, please contact your Liberty Account Representative. |
