COVID-19 Logistics Update

South Africa: We reported last week that South Africa has banned all shipping of alcoholic beverages. To further update on shipments in the works, we received information from the Albatrans team in South Africa that all shipments booked and in stacking at the terminals should be exported, but this is at the discretion of Customs, the ports and the steamship line. If you have pending cargo on terminal, we recommend you check on the status. If not already on terminal, alcohol is banned from movement over the roads. For import cargo into South Africa, any non-essential cargo will be moved from the ports to the container depot of the steamship line and held until the lockdown is over. Of course, any of this could change as the situation develops, but that is the latest update.

Duty/Tax Extensions:  We posted information last week about CBP's ability to extend duty/tax payment by request. After being flooded with requests, the administration shut this down on March 26 and is no longer accepting requests for additional days for payments, while "retaining the right to allow additional days for narrow circumstances." The Wall Street Journal subsequently published an article indicating that the USA will stop collecting import duty and tax for 90 days. This article created a lot of confusion, but at this time there are no extensions being offered. Many industry groups are pushing Congress for a broad level of assistance for importers but as of now, duty and tax payments are due as usual.

Port Updates:  We are experiencing sporadic delays due to additional cleaning at ports, reduced hours due to reduction of cargo, and short term shut downs. We will continue to keep you updated with any significant news affecting the USA or global port operations.

Blank Sailings:  Steamship lines are planning blank (cancelled) sailings for mid April for westbound strings Europe to USA. We have been advising shippers to provide forecasts, especially for urgent shipments to aid in the planning and insure that needed shipments move as planned.  We may see more blank sailings if cargo downturn continues as steamship lines will not sail with empty vessels.

Should you have any specific questions or areas of concern, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. We will keep information updated as often as possible.