Dear Valued Client
We would hereby kindly like to inform you that the Shipping Line and Port Landside annual increase becomes effective 01 April every year.
Please note that the shipping lines and port authorities will levy the new tariff on any shipments on route to South Africa that births on or after the 1st of April 2021, irrespective of the original ETA given at the time of booking the cargo/container.
IMPORTS
Please note that the trigger date for the third-party increase is the date the vessel births. For any estimates received for current and upcoming orders, please be advised that all costs at the time of invoicing will be adjusted in line with the tariff applicable as from 01 April 2021.
EXPORTS
The trigger date for third-party increases on exports is the date of handling within the port (Port Landside) and the loading date (Shipping Line Charges). Kindly note for any estimates received for current and upcoming orders that all costs at the time of invoicing will be adjusted in line with the tariff applicable as from 01 April 2021.
Should you require any updated pricing or further information, kindly contact your local Savino Del Bene controller.
MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING COMPANY: PRICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Kindly take note that MSC will be implementing a Misdeclaration Fee (CMD) ex far east effective:
- 22 March (B/L date) – To any destination except the U.S
- 20 April 2021 (B/L date) – To the U.S
Please refer to the notice as received from MSC for more information: MSC Notice
COVID-19: CARGO MOVEMENT UPDATE
In addition, we would hereby kindly like to share with you some important cargo movement industry information.
The following was extracted from the document titled “B4SA Covid-19 – Cargo Movement Update – Summary – 19 March 2021”.
Concerning the pandemic, new cases of COVID-19 in South Africa have averaged approximately 1,188 per day (a tad up from 1,071 last week). Consequently, the number of cases recorded now totals 1,533,9614 at the time of writing. Globally, South Africa dropped to 17th place, as Ukraine overtook us in the last seven days. Globally speaking, some 122 million cases have now been recorded. Luckily, aggressive vaccination programs continue, as more than 410 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have now been administered, which constitutes 5.3%5 of the world’s population as of writing. According to the same source, South Africa has now made a total of 177,275 vaccine jabs, which once again highlights our apparent lethargy at getting the National Department of Health’s vaccine rollout strategy up to speed6. It should be noted that there are still more than 1 million primary health care workers who have not yet been vaccinated before the programme even starts to be extended to the general population.
An average of ~9,027 TEUs was handled per day for the last week, with an increased average of around ~9,459 TEUs (↑5%) expected to be handled next week. The container throughput volumes have slightly increased at most terminals, with CTCT notably taking approximately 20,900 containers for the week and 34,200 containers handled at DCT. The near-term outlook remains neutral to marginally positive, as the ocean-going economy is looking to rebound from the abysmal start to 2021. Despite some silver lining, several operational inefficiencies persist, most notably revolving around low productivity together with equipment and network breakdowns. With the upcoming citrus export season approaching and deciduous fruit exports getting into full swing, the broader maritime economy is hopeful that the tide is turning, as the industry needs small victories to keep morale going.
For the global maritime industry, freight rates have dipped under the $5,000-threshold and now stand at $4,942.72 per 40ft container. The change results in a decrease of ↓1.7% since last week, similar to the pattern seen in the previous three weeks. But it must be said that a major reduction and return to previous levels is not on the cards for traders. Various major lines have communicated their yearly general rate increases for April. Although demand on the Asia-Europe route has softened due to port congestion and container imbalances, there is little sign of a spot rate collapse. Instead, the expectation is for a “small correction” from the staggering inflation (~450%) seen in the spot market since the second half of 2020.
In the air cargo arena, both international and domestic volumes continue with their recent sustained increase, despite a slight drop in international volumes in the week under review. The daily average volume of air cargo handled at ORTIA over the seven days starting 10 March amounted to 476 313 kg inbound and 329 802 kg outbound. In total, that results in an average of 806 115 kg per day, which is approximately ~120% compared to the two months before the lockdown period (compared to ~110% last week). For the domestic industry, average air cargo moved since the lockdown period has amounted to 77 138 kg per day (↑4% compared to last week), which constitutes approximately ~41%, compared to the previous year (~40% previous week).
In general terms, the global aviation industry’s recovery continues, as cargo volumes grew by ↑7.7% quarter-on-quarter in the three months to January. Nevertheless, as volumes have returned and rates have started to fall, a new debate has been triggered on how long the ‘new’ capacity might stay in the market. According to the latest figures, air freight rates per kg from China to the US are down some ↓5%, to $5.09. Meanwhile, in Europe, they have edged down to $4.06 despite fuel prices increasing. Market observers wondered at what freight rate the additional, less-economical capacity would need to be grounded. The industry is concerned that, if air freight rates decline further, carriers will simply stop flying the passenger-freighters, and pure freighters, on the routes.
On the regional cross-border road freight front, in general, an overall improvement in border delays was experienced in the last week. For the week, the following main points stand out. Cross-border queue time has averaged ~5,8 hours (which is somewhat lower than that experienced in the previous week at ~8,9 hours), which has cost the transport industry an estimated $3.1 million (or R50 million). In comparison, the average cross-border transit time also declined to an average of ~20.2 hours (~23.6 hours last week), which has cost the transport industry an estimated $14.4 million (or R230 million). The total cost for the week mentioned above amounts to an estimated R280 million (down by approximately R103 million since last week), which was better than the week before and noticeably lower than some previous weeks. It is to be hoped that this positive trend can be maintained.
In summary, as the macro environment is gathering economic impetus, the South African supply chain is slowly following suit, even though a greater sense of urgency is required. Number-wise, the outlook is improving for both ocean freight and air cargo. Despite these improvements, significant brittleness remains, especially in the maritime economy, which will unfortunately not be alleviated in the short term. But perhaps we can take some comfort from longer-term forecasts suggesting that it is unlikely that this once-in-a-century economic collapse will be relived any time soon.
Kind regards,
Desiré Gourdain