The coronavirus outbreak in China is first and foremost a massive human health crisis. But the epidemic has also caused big problems for supply chains and logistics networks.
Whether or not the coronavirus has impacted you, this disaster offers important lessons about how unexpected supply chain disruptions can undermine operations, and how to minimize that risk.
International shipping is a complex industry with a language all its own. The more shipping terms you understand, the better-equipped you’ll be to move your freight efficiently and economically. To get you up to speed on some key terms, here’s a quick international shipping glossary,
For shippers of airfreight, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) runs a program called the Known Shipper Management System, commonly known as “TSA Known Shipper.” Following are brief answers to the questions we get most often about the program.
For global shippers of oversized (e.g., machinery, construction equipment) and heavy freight (e.g., stone, tile, metal, forgings, castings and even bottled water), keeping freight costs low requires added expertise and, sometimes, a little creativity. Here are 15 ideas to reduce costs for oversized and heavy freight.
If you’re moving overseas, you already have a ton on your mind—packing up your household, arranging transportation, maybe nailing down details about a job, or where you’ll live—and on and on.
So you’ll be glad to know there’s at least one thing you won’t have to do when you move: pay duties on your personal effects. At least, not if you follow the rules and present all the necessary documents.
When you ship oversize freight, the length, height and/or width of the load dictate that you’ll need special permits for truck transportation. But often, of course, an oversize load is a heavy load as well. That’s why it’s important to understand the truck weight limits that apply to oversize shipments.
If shipping oversize cargo seems like a complex proposition, project cargo poses an even bigger challenge. Not only is the typical project cargo shipment large, heavy and valuable, but it’s usually time- and mission-critical.
That critical factor makes it especially important to observe all the rules that apply to a project cargo shipment and complete all the paperwork with no mistakes.
If you had to move a huge piece of machinery overseas, would you know what to do? Here’s how one shipper, with no prior experience, solved its oversize cargo transportation puzzle with just one phone call.
January 1, 2020 marks not just the start of a new year, but also a price hike for many companies that ship international freight. That increase comes courtesy of new ultra-low sulfur fuel regulations from the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
How can you make sure this stringent standard for cleaner fuel doesn’t take too big a bite from your budget?
When you need a load to arrive overseas in several days rather than several weeks, you’ll pay top dollar to send it by air. But what about less urgent cargo? If expedited shipping doesn’t fit your business model, do you simply have to accept that when your load moves by ocean, the transit will be super slow?
Not really.
