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It’s more important than ever to have a professional logistics provider working with your supply chain.

As much as we hear about the delays on the US West Coast regarding ocean freight, the focus on retail goods does a disservice to the issues coming up for other cargo including granite shipments from India. Following the pandemic explosion of e-commerce, home improvement spending experienced a 3% increase as people stuck at home devote time to improving their surroundings. Like other heavy load cargo, granite shipments travel in custom-built boxes that are steel reinforced to handle up to 29 tons. 
We’re also seeing huge delays in Brazil as many feeder vessels have been grounded due to Covid outbreaks which causes the mother vessels to be delayed or diverted, creating delays of up to 45-60 days from Vitoria. These delays are expected to compound the problems we have with securing space and equipment until the sailings get back on track. 
BOX LINES LET RATES GET OUT OF CONTROL
As previously mentioned in our blog post about granite shipments, rates in all modalities are skyrocketing but nowhere is the cost more apparent than the ocean freight market, currently 450% over last year's rate. Not only are the trans-pacific rates expectedly huge, but even rates out of Europe are hitting five figures amid massive shortages of containers and equipment in a banner trade market none of us have ever seen. Despite the records, rates are still increasing daily.
EVER GIVEN ARRESTED
The recent arrest of the Ever Given by the Suez Canal Authority has added to the questions surrounding unloading all of the cargo on board. While cargo owners deal with this latest legal mess, American importers are stalled waiting for the cargo on board to either be dismissed on the vessel or reloaded to another ship, processes that will create even more delays as Egypt figures out the best way to proceed.
NEWS FROM COPPERSMITH
COPPERSMITH WISHES YOU A HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY
Coppersmith is looking forward to celebrating Mother's Day on May 9th with our friends and family in the safest situations available to us. In our continuing effort to ensure the health and safety of our friends, family, and clients most of our staff has now been vaccinated and look forward to being able to spend time with loved ones again. Also, we look forward to being able to again sit down with our clients whenever they feel comfortable. 
For Agriculture Shippers: United States Agriculture shippers are coming en mass to craft a letter to the Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to ask him to intervene with international carriers who are dismissing the equipment needs of agriculture shippers and sending empty containers back to Asia, instead of loading them full of cargo. As long as there's an equipment imbalance in the market, there will be nefarious ways of carriers to take containers out of the market to rush them back to where the most cargo remains.
“We are hopeful the secretary will act upon this urgent request soon, as the situation is becoming increasingly dire,” said Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC). “We have specific measures we can propose and look forward to the opportunity to present them.”

We have been seeing the following:
Carriers are charging premiums $2,000-$3,500 over and above FAK and getting space at FAK rates next to impossible.
Shippers are waiting three-five weeks even after paying premium rates. If shippers pay the premium, they may get space within 10-15 days, but if they don't, they may have to wait much longer, and nobody can guarantee space. Wait times of 5-6 weeks are not unusual. Premium rates have shifted into the spot market of late due to challenging market conditions. The premium is meant to ensure a fast-track loading; however, that is not the case anymore. Even the customers paying a premium may have to wait four-five weeks to get a confirmed space. After the client gets the cargo loaded, the shipment will still get stuck for days after reaching the heavily congested ports in the US and Europe.
New Challenges: The uncertainty around getting a container has given rise to "duplicity of bookings". Many shippers approach different forwarders, all these forwarders will go to the carriers and carriers will get a lot of bookings. The carriers are not able to gauge the actual volumes, 15%-20% of total bookings the carriers get may be fake bookings or double bookings for same shipper trying to secure space. As a result, the carriers have started imposing a cancelation fee. If a forwarder/shipper cancels a booking after they have confirmed space, they will need to pay a cancelation fee which could be around $1,000-$2,000, depending on the carrier.
The Biden administration has announced in conjuction with climate Envoy John Kerry that the shipping industry should reach an absolute zero emissions level by 2050. This is an about face from the previous administrations plans and will require a brazen new infrastructure plan and investment to reach not only net zero but absolute zero on the emissions. The IMO currently is working to reduce emissions by 50% by 2050 and will have to step up their commitment to clean energy to hit it.
In Montreal, the 1,150 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local (CUPE) 375 went on strike at 7 a.m. on April 26th. As a result, all cargo operations at the port are shut down except for liquid bulk, Oceanex service and the Viterra grain terminal. The Canadian government issued a notice that it plans to introduce legislation to end the strike. The bill, titled “An Act to Provide for the Resumption and Continuation of Operations at the Port of Montreal,” is expected as early as Tuesday.