To Our Valued Customers:
Market Conditions: Fewer blank sailings have been announced for the third quarter as US import demand returns. This is great news for US Exporters as container availability and near-term bookings off of the USEC should improve. Space conditions on the Transpacific trade from the West Coast remain favorable for immediate bookings.
CMA CGM phases out APL: Effective October 1st, APL will exit the Transpacific trade and all cargo will move under a CMA CGM Bill of Lading. APL will focus exclusively on US flag vessels, service to Guam, and business with the US government. CMA CGM purchased APL in 2016.
General Rate Increase: The Transpacific export GRI train has come to a screeching halt. There are not any current carrier announcements for increases for the balance of July.
PierPass Fee Increases Again: On August 1st, the traffic mitigation gate fee (TMF) at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach increases to $33.47 per 20’ and $ 66.94 per 40’ container. This is an increase of 4.2% over previous levels. The traffic mitigation fee is used to pay for night and weekend gates at the ports.
Yantian Port Reefer Issues: Due to the COVID -19 pandemic, many ports are congested. MSC has advised they can not discharge any reefer containers in Yantian as there are no available reefer plugs at Yantian port. MSC has begun discharging reefer cargo at alternate ports and will move containers to Yantian as reefer plugs become available.
Hyundai Changes Rail Partner: HMM switches from the BNSF to the Union Pacific for West Coast exports beginning in August. This change allows them to align with other members of THE Alliance.
Laufer Kansas City Returning to the Office: Our team of 90 employees in Kansas City is beginning to return to the office. Thank you for being patient and understanding through this challenging time of working from home during COVID-19.
Our #1 priority as always is to help maintain our customers’ competitiveness, to keep your cargo flowing as quickly and as consistently as possible, and to continue to communicate effectively along the way. Our nimbleness, market awareness, and “Built Different” philosophy enable us to do this - as your partner.
Thank you very much for all your support.