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Daleba has experienced significant changes in sea and air freight logistics recently that have completely altered the market conditions and we wanted to keep you informed and updated of the situation.
Approximately 50% of ships have been taken out of service and mothballed and there has been significant new cooperation between carriers many of whom are now slot chartering from each other in order to maximise the utilisation of the ships left in service.
This reduction in ships has coincided with an increase in demand attributable to the traditional peak season and a sudden rush to re-stock.
The result is that most ships are now full to capacity and there is not enough space to cater for demand. Containers are having to go into a queuing system before they will be put on a ship. This situation applies to virtually all carriers and the luxury of unlimited bookings has now been withdrawn as the industry is working within set allocation.
Approximately 50% of ships have been taken out of service and mothballed and there has been significant new cooperation between carriers many of whom are now slot chartering from each other in order to maximise the utilisation of the ships left in service.
This reduction in ships has coincided with an increase in demand attributable to the traditional peak season and a sudden rush to re-stock.
The result is that most ships are now full to capacity and there is not enough space to cater for demand. Containers are having to go into a queuing system before they will be put on a ship. This situation applies to virtually all carriers and the luxury of unlimited bookings has now been withdrawn as the industry is working within set allocation.
2nd December 2009
Notification from Maersk confirmed that out of South East Asia they had 6000 x 40ft containers which were unable to be shipped and are now in the queue. Most carriers have 1 - 2000 x 40ft containers backed up awaiting shipment.
Daleba’s freight forwarding partner Uniserve is well positioned to deal with these types of issue. They have extremely strong relationships and their allocations are far greater than anybody else's.
Speaking recently with Uniserve’s Managing Director Iain Liddell who told us that they are working 24/7 to ensure every container is shipped as booked and they are not accepting excuses from the carriers. Their team is putting them under maximum pressure. However, we do need to advise that there is still the possibility that containers will be placed into the carriers' queuing systems. The situation is so bad that carriers are all in the same position and most are simply giving space to the highest bidder to recover their losses in the early part of the year.
The matter has now reached a critical point and the backlog has created major issues even obtaining confirmed shipment information from some carriers is becoming a problem.
The problem of reduced capacity with shipping lines has been mirrored in air freight, with many carriers having made significant reductions to their schedules over the last 12 months. The last few weeks have seen a significant upturn in demand and as a result many forwarders have found it extremely difficult to secure bookings in Hong Kong. The demands on space with scheduled airlines have exceeded well over available capacity.
Again Daleba’s freight forwarding partner Uniserve are more fortunate than most because of their year round block space agreements with the likes of BA, Cathay Pacific etc. but looking at the next three/four weeks it is impossible to calculate that demand can be met by available scheduled airline capacity.
Charter and VIP service solutions - To overcome this critical space issue Uniserve have committed to a series of full and part charters over the coming weeks in addition to buying VIP space with scheduled carriers. This will give them the ability to keep our freight moving and your PCB’s delivered with the minimal delay possible.
With capacity in scarce supply the costs for additional space on both scheduled and chartered flights have risen rapidly and this looks likely to continue until mid December at the earliest. However Daleba Electronics so far have been able to bear the additional costs incurred providing these service solutions.
Daleba Electronics are continually monitoring these situations and are working very closely with Uniserve to ensure your orders are delivered on time, but price and space is critical and everyone importing goods from the Far East are experiencing major issues. We hope by being forewarned that you can plan to build in additional lead times if possible.
If you are currently experiencing these issues and need any assistance, or should you need any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.
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