Beacon - International Despatch Limited

Newsletter Dec2011
Created by John on 12/8/2011

Beacon International Despatch Ltd - Newsletter December 2011

Beacon International - Newsletter

December, 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS

BEACON CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE

Friday Dec 23rd - 8:30am to 5:00pm
Monday Dec 26th - Closed
Tuesday Dec 27th - Closed
Wednesday Dec 28th - 8:30am to 5:00pm
Thursday Dec 29th - 8:30am to 5:00pm
Friday Dec 30th - 8:30am to 5:00pm
Monday Jan 2nd - Closed
Tuesday Jan 3rd - Re-open with regular hours

INDONESIAN PORTS WANT TO QUINTUPLE BOX STORAGE FEES
The landlord of Indonesia's largest port said it will quintuple container storage later this week to help reduce congestion reports the Journal of Commerce.

State-owned Pelindo II said the new fees would help speed the flow of containers at Tanjung Priok, Indonesia's top container gateway. PT Pelindo II president director said the increase was a penalty for "errant business people" who left their containers at port for extended periods, according to the The Jakarta Post.

Shipper's negligence has led to the average storage time of container to rise to six days this year from 5.5 days in 2010, a nearly three-day increase over the average storage time at other Asian ports. Volume at the port this year is expected to reach 5.8 million 20-foot equivalent units, up 23 percent compared to a year earlier.

Pelindo II would not say when exactly the new charges take effect. A spokesperson for one carrier said all shippers would be impacted if the new fees were applied across the port.

SUEZ CANAL TOLL TO INCREASE
Egypt's Suez Canal Authority has announced that Canal tolls will be increased starting March 1, 2012. According to reports, toll fees will be increased by 3%. The Authority said the change was made based on studies on global economy and trade.

CANADIAN PACIFIC 2011 HOLIDAY SCHEDULE / WINTER SAFETY REMINDER
The following is Canadian Pacific's network operating plan for the upcoming holiday season. CP's detailed plan can be found here.

CN BULLETIN 42 - TO ALL STEAMSHIP LINE CUSTOMERS WHO SHIP TO THE U.S. VIA CN
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has presently advised that review of original veterinary certificates and other documents related to shipments containing animal products that are regulated by the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the USDA will be required at the first U.S. Port of Arrival.

At this time, for CN handled traffic, this requirement will only apply to shipments arriving at the U.S. border port of Port Huron, MI. Past business practice with CBP has allowed for containers that move in-bond into the U.S. to have supporting documents, such as veterinary certificates, to be presented at inland ports, such as Chicago, for review by CBP agricultural specialists.

CN has been advised by CBP that under existing regulation they must revert to having these documents reviewed at the first U.S. Port of Arrival prior to shipment arrival for admissibility into the US. CBP will begin enforcing regulation for review of documents related to animal products at Port Huron, MI effective January 3rd, 2011.

CANADIAN PACIFIC TO TAKE ITS LONG TRAIN STRATEGY TO NEW LENGTHS IN 2012
Canadian Pacific on Monday announced it will further develop its long train strategy in 2012. As part of CP's previously announced 2011 capital expansion program, the Company's installation of new and extended sidings in several key regions throughout its network will allow CP to further benefit from current double digit increases in train lengths.

By the end of 2013, the railway is targeting an 11 per cent increase in transcontinental train lengths by adding growing volumes into existing trains. CP currently operates intermodal trains up to 12,000 feet long, an increase of 40 per cent since 2008. The benefits of long trains include reduced fuel consumption, capital maintenance and labour savings, and improved safety and efficiency. Similar capital investments in the western end of CP's network are enabling potash train sizes to increase by 20 per cent and unit coal train sizes to increase by 18 per cent

AFREIGHT FORWARDERS AND IMPORTERS MUST BE ALERTED TO DANGERS OF RADIATION IN CONTAINERS
On June 14 of this year, CIFFA alerted Members of the increase in ocean containers triggering alarms for radiation at Canada's West Coast ports (see eBulletin June 14 - Increased Numbers of Containers Testing Positive for Radiation). The eBulletin was a collaboration between CIFFA and the Canada Border Services Agency. We also provided information from the CBSA in the eBulletin on November 23, 2011 on the automated radiation detection network (RadNet) that screens virtually all containers entering through Canada's major marine ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Montreal, Halifax and Saint John. Since October 3, 2011, three containers arriving in Vancouver from China triggered higher levels of radiation.

As outlined in "INFORM" a newsletter by Norman Loiseau, posted with permission on the CIFFA website at: http://www.ciffa.com/issues_regulatory_cbsa.asp CIFFA Members – be aware, understand the risk and communicate. Members are strongly encouraged to work with all their overseas agents and perhaps more importantly with cargo owners to notify them of the issue and to make them aware of the consequences and the potential costs/ liabilities that could arise. Furthermore, CIFFA Members must understand the possible liabilities / costs/ etc. from inbound containers that test positive for radiation and that they can potentially fall on the forwarder.

In one current situation a forwarder whose customer (importer) has abandoned the container is dealing with a cost to date of $350,000 storage/ cleaning cost. This can be especially serious when the forwarder is the consignee on the carrier's bill of lading. The CBSA has also published on Monday a news release concerning radiation in containers, and the interception and detention of marine containers testing positive for low levels of manmade radiation at both the Port of Vancouver and Prince Rupert. It can be found here

BEYOND THE BORDER: NOISE AND PROMISE
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama will announce a framework agreement on their Beyond the Border initiative with "risk management" as its guiding principle.

The deal is likely to include the following: Pre-clearance, currently offered at our major airports, will be extended to cargo leaving the factory gate; thresholds for inspected goods will be more generous; the "fast pass" privileges for trusted travellers will be expanded; access roads and ports will be improved to make them gateways rather than chokepoints; electrical grids, oil and gas pipelines, and the circuitry for everything from ATM transactions to air traffic control will be reinforced against cyber threats. More here.

Contact Information
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TORONTO OFFICE MOVED 7 FEB, 2010
Our Toronto / Mississauga office has moved to our new location at:

Beacon International Despatch Limited
5250 Satellite Drive
Unit 20
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