July 2016

Shippers vow to end surcharges by end of the decade

The Global Shipper Forum (GSF) announced a plan to put a stop to shipping surcharges at its annual meeting in Colombo, in late July. It described them as “a source of intense frustration to their customers around the world. GSF secretary general, Chris Welsh,  said: “GSF is looking to end the imposition of surcharges on shippers by 2020 through a series of actions that will expose the scale and injustice of ... [+]

Driver shortage – more needs to be done

Current thinking on solving the truck driver shortage is not sufficiently targeted or wide-reaching enough, says a new report by the House of Commons Transport Committee. Nor will it be able to deal with future growth or cope with the ageing profile of drivers likely to retire in the next ... [+]

Grain flows freely through Ipswich

ABP’s Port of Ipswich, the UK’s number one grain exporting port, has handled more than one million tonnes in the 2015/16 harvest year, a record for the port and its customers. In the last harvest year, which ended on 30 June, over 1.09 million tonnes were handled, surpassing the previous ... [+]

Customs brokers at risk from fraud, warns TT Club

Customs brokers and freight forwarders have to perform a delicate balancing act between providing services to clients and complying with obligations to customs authorities – and it is getting more complicated, warns the TT Club. The insurer’s senior claims executive in Sydney, Kate Hollis, explained: “Customs brokers assume responsibility for acting ... [+]

Brexit must not lead to red tape, say ports

The British Ports Association has urged the Government to ensure that Brexit will not result in extra red tape and bureaucracy at the UK’sborders Chairman Rodney Lunn today said: “Anyone who has witnessed the disruption recently to cross Channel services as a result of border control issues will see how important ... [+]

Fox plan is not cunning, says FTA

The Freight Transport Association has reacted with alarm to a statement by from International Trade Secretary Liam Fox on 27 July in which he apparently called for the UK to quit the EU Customs Union as soon as possible, FTA warned this would create huge uncertainty for its shipper members and ... [+]

Bye bye bicycles

Shipping Line MSC has partnered with drinks firm Diageo to bring pedal power to West Africa by donating and transporting hundreds of pre-owned bicycles and accessories to Koblimahigu and Kakpayili in Ghana. Over 450 bikes and cycling equipment have been collected over the past six months and the first 40ft container, ... [+]

Liverpool gears up for terminal 2

The port of Liverpool has taken delivery of 33 new tractor units worth £2.6 million for its existing Royal Seaforth Container Terminal and the new Liverpool2 development. It is expected that the port will take an additional 15 tractors and trailers as throughput at L2 increases.   [+]

APL to launch China express to Felixstowe

Shipping line APL – which recently announced its takeover by CMA CGM – is to launch  a new Felixstowe Express Service from main ports of China, complementing APL’s existing service to Southampton. Port rotation is: Qingdao, Yangshan, Ningbo, Xiamen, Yantian, Port Klang, Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Hamburg. The first sailing will ... [+]

Drone plan – more questions than answers

Deliveries by drone could be an exciting development but there are many questions to be asked about such a system would work, says supply chain technology experts, Kewill. With online retailer Amazon and the UK Government announced trials for delivering goods by drones on 26 July, “questions are being raised around ... [+]