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Climbing Costs & Congestion Cause Concerns

When it rains, it pours - then it freezes and there’s a sandstorm and the logistics sector is topsy-turvy once again. Starting with congestion, the oldest issue currently upending shipments, the coastal ports in California and New York are overflowing with containers and cargo as railroads are bogged down with too much to transport and not enough equipment to move them all. Beyond that, the difficult weather conditions earlier in the year exponentially compounded the issues because the trucks needed to carry cargo became stalled in areas that were impassable from ice and snow. Delays beget delays and now the industry is faced with a sideways story from the Suez Canal - after the initial chuckle about the situation from outsiders, we’ve started to hear actual conversations about the serious ramifications of having the bypass where 10% of the global trade and 7% of the world’s oil passes through blocked. 
Don’t let your cargo become a casualty. Consult with Coppersmith today!
THE EVER GIVEN IS DISLODGED, WHAT'S NEXT?
If you look back over the last week, the amount of disruption that sprung from the Ever Given's perpendicular problem has driven logistics, the Suez Canal, and the ocean freight shipping industry into the news spotlight. Anyone who works in this career has likely received a dozen or more articles, jokes, memes and stories from people who didn't have a clue what we did back in February.

Luckily, efforts to refloat the ship were successful, but the delays aren't going to disappear as the wake fades from the canal. Some ships left the waiting area, preferring to traverse the Horn of Africa while others are stuck waiting for 300+ ships to pass before their turn comes. It's far from over, but it could have been much worse and a much longer timeline of catastrophe so we are surely thankful for the successful removal.
NEWS FROM COPPERSMITH
COPPERSMITH WISHES YOU A HAPPY EASTER
Coppersmith is looking forward to celebrating Easter this Sunday with our friends and family in the safest situations available to us. Some will be meeting by Zoom and Skype, others will be having socially distanced outdoor events, but all of us will be careful to ensure the health and safety of our friends, family, and a certain special bunny who might make an appearance with a basket and some delightful eggs!
For our Fireworks Shippers: Port/Rail congestion, combined with lack of equipment and DG Certified drivers are causing many forwarders to get out of the inland delivery business. We have been challenged to find drivers with the ability to move containers not only across state lines but also out of the port for local delivery. Drivers are refusing to waste their time attempting to obtain a pick-up appointment, wait in line for a whole day, and then get charged for per diem and chassis fees, when they can’t get another appointment to return the container. Rates for inland services are skyrocketing along with the freight rates and terminal charges, creating a perfect storm that has increased costs to importers by three times what they were just one year ago.
For our Pet Shippers: Both JFK and ORD Customs have issued Pipelines in the past month requiring that not only do Pet Importers need to use a Customs Broker for their animals traveling as cargo, but their Customs Broker must now file their entries as Type 01 Formal. This means that Importers will now need to obtain a Customs Bond and pay Customs Duties in addition to the Brokerage clearance fees. This combined with the new APHIS requirements for animals is creating a situation where individuals will need to really have their documentation in order, before deciding to bring in a new pet. Luckily, Coppersmith is experienced with these type of transactions and can still handle the release procedures efficiently.
For our export customers, which consist of Agricultural merchandise, even some U.S. Senators are getting involved by writing to the FMC to look into this unfair trade practice of exporting empty containers, rather than accepting our exports. We are having bookings cancelled and shipments rolled on almost every arrangement we make, causing us to have to change paperwork, now spending at least three times as much time on each shipment than previously. Here is the NCBFAA’s article about this:
The forced labor concerns coming from cotton and tomato products in China aren't the only issues that the government is looking at and importers should be aware that goods from Malaysia, Brazil and others that customs is focusing on due to their use of forced labor. Importers should absolutely be including forced labor reviews in their supply chain compliance audits. If you have questions or concerns, reach out to your Coppersmith representative for assistance in compliance.

China’s government and consumers are taking on big names in apparel over their decision to stop sourcing cotton from the disputed Xinjiang region which has been identified by nearly all western democracies as having major human rights violations with the ethnic Uighur minority. The repercussions from China came quick as 400 stores mysteriously disappeared from sites and their brands disappearing from stores, and paid influencers and brand ambassadors publicly renouncing them.