Strike Notice for Canadian Ports Issues by International Longshore & Warehouse Union
 
Dear Customers,
 
The following information has just been received from the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFFA). A strike could affect the containerized shipments loaded on vessels calling the two terminals operated by GCT Canada – Deltaport and Vanterm. BOC will keep you posted  on any further developments.
 
CIFFA learned yesterday (September 4) that the first agreement negotiations between GCT Canada, which operates two container terminals in Port of Vancouver, and ILWU 502 representing planners and planning assistants, “have ended with significant gaps remaining between the parties. As such, ILWU 502 issued strike notice on September 3, 2018.”
 
GCT Canada said it was committed to working with ILWU Local 502 to negotiate the first collective agreement for its Planners in order to continue an effective working relationship and ongoing operational stability.
 
Global Container Terminals has advised as follows:
 
“If the Planners and Assistant Planners commence a strike, as they have notified GCT and the Federal Minister of Labor that they will, on September 7th at 0001, GCT Canada will have no option but to suspend all of its terminal operations in GCT Deltaport and GCT Vanterm due to the essential nature of this function. This would have a direct impact on all parties who rely on our terminal services to get their products to different international markets.
 
As a result, GCT has commenced the necessary planning and will work closely with our customers, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, and stakeholders for safe and efficient shut down of our Vancouver terminal operations.”
 
CIFFA has written a letter to the federal government urging that it “use all the tools at its disposal in bringing negotiations to a successful and rapid conclusion, whether through mediation, binding arbitration or any other means.”
 
The letter was sent today to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Labor, the Minister of Transport, the Minister of International Trade, and the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility.
 
The content of the letter will be available on the CIFFA site.
 
This situation could change quickly and the association will endeavor to keep membership advised as information becomes available.
 
Thank you,
Kind Regards

Trans-Pacific Service VOID Sailings
Please be advised ONE will implement the following VOID sailings, in alignment with THE Alliance member lines.

*Upon PS4 VOID sailing, Kaohsiung will be covered by PS7 service vessel the MOL Beauty 025E/W with the rotation change as follows: Xiamen, Hong Kong, Yantian, Kaohsiung, Long Beach, Oakland, Kaohsiung.
The subsequent voyages for these services will be as per the published schedule.
We regret the inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding in this regard. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact your sales account representative for additional information.
Sincerely,
Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd.
APL
APL Golden Week Blank Sailings

Maersk
Maersk Line Gold Week Blank Sailings

BOC International is closed for the US Holiday, Labor Day, on Monday September 3

Port Conditions, Asia
Shanghai: Heavy congestion in all SIPG terminals continue – waiting 3-3.5 days for a berth after port was closed for 57hrs due to bad weather
Qingdao: Increased congestion – waiting time around 1-1.5 days. Pot closed 66hrs last week
Ningbo: Heavy congestion – currently 1-1.5 days waiting for a berth – Port closed for about 69hrs
Dalian:  Moderate congestion comes up due to the port being closed for 96hrs last week due to strong winds and rough seas
Lianyugang: Severe congestion appears this week, the port was closed for 90hrs last week, vessels can expect up to 3-4 days for a berth
Xingang:  Port was closed for 11hrs last week, but port productivity situation remained normal
Manila: Manila South & North port still experiencing congestion , 15 vessels currently waiting for a berth at Manila North and 6 vessels waiting for a berth at Manila South. Terminal CY’s also heavily over capacity which leads to delays of empty returns and use of  external ICD’s a “must”
Bangkok: Berth waiting time continues to be approx. 1 day
Japan:  Nagoya Port is likely to be affected by Typhoon Cimaron on 23rd Aug
Korea:  Port operation is normal at present, however Typhoon SOULIK will shut the ports now for approx. 24–36 hours

CBP Increases MPF Effective October 1, 2018
U.S. Customs Border Protection has announced a 2.151 percent increase of the merchandise processing fee (MPF) effective October 1, 2018 for fiscal year 2019. The assessed rate of .3464 percent of the entered value of merchandise does not change, the minimum and maximum limitations for the MPF have changed. Please find the changes below.

• Formal entry minimum increases from $25.67 to $26.22
• Formal entry maximum increases from $497.99 to $508.70
• Informal entry electronically transmitted to CBP increases from $2.05 to $2.10
• Informal entry manually submitted to CBP increases from $6.16 to $6.29

Additional information can be found through this link:
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-08-01/pdf/2018-16510.pdf

Port Conditions, Asia
Qingdao:     Heavy congestion continues – waiting 1.5-2 days for a berth after the port was closed for 30.5 hours due to bad weather.

Shanghai:    Increased congestion – waiting time 2-2.5 days. TS (Tropical Storm) RUMBIA caused some issues with the draft in the channel, restricting  vessel access and berthing.

Ningbo:       Heavy congestion – at least 2 days waiting for a berth – Port closed for about 59hrs, being affected by TS YAGI and RUMBIA.

Shantou:     Moderate port congestion. Vessels out of window will delay at least 0.5-1 day.

Penang:     Moderate congestion, low productivity due to crane maintenance, berth waiting time is around 0.5 day.

Manila:        Manila South & North port still experiencing congestion – delays of 3-4 days even for vessels on window. The CY’s at the port are also heavily over capacity which leads to delays of empty returns and use of external ICD’s a “must”.

Bangkok:     Berth waiting time continues to be approx. 2 days

Jakarta:       Port congestion has eased, but due to ongoing low productivity in port, waiting 0.5 to 1 day for a berth for ships arriving off window.
 
Surabaya:    Port congestion moderate due to low productivity in port, waiting 1 to 1.5 days for a berth for ships arriving off window.

CBP Increases MPF Effective October 1, 2018
U.S. Customs Border Protection has announced a 2.151 percent increase of the merchandise processing fee (MPF) effective October 1, 2018 for fiscal year 2019. The assessed rate of .3464 percent of the entered value of merchandise does not change, the minimum and maximum limitations for the MPF have changed. Please find the changes below.

• Formal entry minimum increases from $25.67 to $26.22
• Formal entry maximum increases from $497.99 to $508.70
• Informal entry electronically transmitted to CBP increases from $2.05 to $2.10
• Informal entry manually submitted to CBP increases from $6.16 to $6.29

Additional information can be found through this link:
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-08-01/pdf/2018-16510.pdf

China Tariff List Two – Effective Date and Rate announced
Please find the following attachments, for your reference:

1. List 1 (25%, effective July 6th, 2018) Click here 
2. List 2 (25%, effective August 23rd, 2018) Click here
3. Form to Request Exclusion of Product.  Click here– Instructions and form for how to apply for an exclusion to List 1 and List 2 tariffs. Note that the information provided will become publicly available and viewable for comment for a period of 14 days. Decisions on exclusions are anticipated to take some time to process, but would be retroactive, if granted. Generally speaking, it appears that importer must show that equivalent domestic goods are not available, not of sufficient quality, or that imposition of tariffs would cause ‘severe economic harm’ to either the requestor or the US as a whole. Further guidance and decision making criteria has not yet been made available.

Note: an application for exclusion can only be made for the effective List 1 and List 2 tariffs, NOT yet for List 3. It is anticipated that, like List 1 and List 2, a similar request for exclusion process will become available upon final announcement. We will forward at that time.
NOTE: List 3 – proposed 10% or 25%, no final rate or effective date announced yet – comment period extended through September 5th 2018