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| What price are you paying to move your container from Asia? |
If you are a regular importer from Asia, you'll know that we've been on a roller coaster as far as import freight rates have been concerned, where rates hit a low of USD 500/20 in January 2012, then sky-rocketed to around USD 1800/20 by July 2012, and then slowly sinking back to around USD 500/20 once again in June 2013.
The key thing here was that it was really important to actively manage this because when rates were climbing, the announced increase wasn't always accepted in full by the market (so you could be paying more than necessary), and equally importantly, when the rates were falling, not every freight forwarder was passing on the reductions as quickly as they might (so again you were paying more than necessary).
So, where are we now? Well, we had the historic rate increase for Jul 1st 2013 of around USD 1000/20 which the market accepted at about 90% (USD 895) of the proposed figure and then it slipped throughout the month by about USD 50/TEU (20ft) per week.
After 3 weeks (Fri 19-Jul) , the increase was at around USD 725 (of the USD 1000) however last week (26-Jul) it bounced back by USD 120 which meant that the market was anticipating the imposition of the next (Aug 1st) increase of around USD 500/20ft.
So, it would be a good idea to get a grip of this situation. Some companies I have visited recently didn't have up to date rates for July so I'm sure they're not alone. There also seems to be a big range of rates that importers are actually paying (around 30%!).
You really need to get a fix on what you're currently paying and clarity on what increase your freight forwarder plans to pass on to you this month because we're heading towards USD 1800/20ft and more if you don't take control.
This means your freight costs will have tripled in just 30 days...! We have competitive arrangements in place for our own clients however this is because we know the market and use that knowledge when negotiating any new rates. If you need someone to help you get a grip of this area, please do contact us, we're experienced and have the industry connections to relieve some of your cost pressures, and this is even more important when the dollar is pretty strong
(Asia inbound ocean rates are priced in USD).
My details are below.
Kind Regards
Andy Cliff
Director
Straightforward Consultancy Ltd
4, Beckett Drive
Winwick Park
Warrington
Cheshire
WA2 8XJ
Tel : 07934 443492
Email : andy@straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Web : www.straightforwardconsultancy.co.uk
Blog : http://straightforwardconsultancy.blogspot.co.uk/
Twitter: @AndyCliffSCL
Linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/andy-cliff/1a/43/72
Skype: andy.cliff1@skype.com
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