Shipping from Europe? Here’s some important information
If you are planning any shipments from Europe in the near term, we wanted to give you some information specific to planning your lead times.
Reduced weekly capacity from Europe to the US
Major carriers have started introducing sailing service changes (cancelling specific vessels on a schedule rotation or suspending services on key shipping corridors. For the transatlantic from North Europe, 96% of the weekly capacity is controlled by three shipping alliances (2M, THE Alliance, and the Ocean Alliance). As overall cargo volumes are declining, we are starting to see blank sailings (cancelled sailings) now on the transatlantic which reduces the amount of capacity available, from both Northern European and Mediterranean ports.
Supplier Status
In general the overwhelming majority of suppliers are operational, but many are adjusting collection times or requiring appointments which can affect scheduling of multi-stop loads. In France roughly 100 suppliers (less than 1%) have either closed or reduced pickup times, but we expect to see more facilities re-open after the Easter holidays.
France – Upcoming Bank Holidays
Be prepared for some scheduling disruptions around the bank holiday in France which are
· Monday April 13th
· Friday May 1st
· Friday May 8th
· Thursday May 21st
· Monday June 1st
What to except and how to plan accordingly?
With the above situation, we encourage you to prepare for longer than usual scheduling times to work around holidays, supplier availability and bookings. Reefer containers are extremely limited so we recommend using VinLiner container or pallet liners and temperature recording devices.
We are still awaiting guidance from the US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) on TTB’s announcement of postponed tax payments and what that means for imported shipments, but in the meantime we encourage you to also work with your suppliers to secure allocation under the Craft Beverage Modernization Act (CBMA) to take advantage of tax savings for this year. More information on our website here.
We’re here to help you navigate your shipments during these challenging times! Please connect with your Hillebrand representative to discuss your business needs.