Shipping Updates, Trade Lane Forecasts and US Customs CBMA Information
Shipping Updates
Vessel waiting times at the Port of New York and New Jersey have increased and are now averaging between 2-10 days to berth due to high import volumes and congestion as more import cargo has been routed to the East Coast. The wait time for containerships outside of Southern California ports is averaging 19-20 days with 39 vessels waiting off-shore.
The average wait time for vessels outside ports however is only one indicator of congestion. Port and terminal fluidity also depends on container dwell times, turnaround times outside the terminals and at warehouses, space for empty containers returns, availability of chassis equipment and labor, rail congestion and much more.
View posted vessel wait times and port updates, published weekly in the link below or on Hillebrand’s website.
Trade Lane Forecasts
Forecast information by trade lane, including details on space availability and ocean rate trends for the past three months and the next quarter projections has been published on Hillebrand’s website here.
US CBMA (Craft Beverage Modernization Act) Update on Foreign Producer Certification Assignment
Beginning January 1st, 2023 the administration of the CBMA refund claims will move from the US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Foreign producers seeking to assign tax benefits for their products will provide information directly to the TTB through an online system.
To prepare for these changes, the TTB is looking for assistance from the trade to distribute a survey to foreign companies that export alcohol to the United States. The survey can be shared with foreign suppliers with this link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R28JZYN and will be open until May 25, 2022.
US West Coast Port Labor (ILWU)
Negotiations are scheduled to start on May 12th, 2022 between the US West Coast port labor (ILWU) and the PMA (Pacific Maritime Association). The current master contract for all US West Coast ports is set to expire on July 1st, 2022 which has raised concerns of potential labor slowdowns or strike action if the parties cannot reach an agreement before that date.
The current president of the ILWU, Willie Adams did state in a media briefing last month that he expected that agreement will be reached but it will take time…“We will get an agreement. It takes both sides. Right now, we’re getting ready. Sometime in May, we’re going to sit down, we’re going to get an agreement.” We will continue to provide updates on any new developments.