Global Events Update - September 20th

ILA update: The clock continues to tick on the contact expiration date and still no news on any breakthroughs in the negotiations. Ocean carriers are limiting some types of bookings but in general it will be business as usual. Surprisingly, carriers are not seeing any significant reductions in volume in October and are continuing to announce rate increases in many forms and most have published surcharges that will go into effect if a strike occurs. The surcharges range from $500 to over $3,000 per container. Contingency availability is extremely limited and at this point we can only hope that if a work stoppage happens, it will be very short.  

SOE: The deadline of September 19th for importer certification is now upon us and Organic certificates from foreign suppliers can no longer be processed if the USA importer has not been certified. Many USA importers are awaiting certification as the process has been extremely backlogged to gain inspections and final review. Should you have any questions or concerns on the SOE, please reach out to us at info@wssa.com

Portugal Fires & Strikes: Portugal is grappling with severe wildfires that have devastated over 15,000 hectares of land, mostly in the northern and central regions. The fires have forced a state of calamity declaration, as they have caused seven deaths and affected around 210,000 people. The fires have disrupted daily life, leading to road closures, school shutdowns, and the destruction of homes. Road cargo movement, particularly between northern cities like Porto and Aviero, have been affected by the fires with significant delays and disruptions in the transportation routes. Some ports and rail services may also be affected as firefighting efforts continue. The situation is expected to remain critical through tomorrow due to high temperatures and strong winds. In addition to the fires, port strikes are scheduled for September 23rd – 24th and again on September 30th – October 1st. The planned strikes are leading to carriers delaying their calls or omitting ports, with MSC confirming they are omitting Leixoes. We will continue to monitor both situations and advise of any further delays or closures.

Port of Hamburg: The port is still dealing with the effects of the system failure earlier this week. Processing delays are delayed between 8 to 24 hours. Trains are still waiting to enter the port, as they are currently not allowed to enter. The delays are expected to continue through next week.

South Africa Delays: The Port of Cape Town has been facing some operational delays due to strong winds and the berthed distressed vessel which has been at the port since September 2nd. The distressed vessel is scheduled to vacate the berth this week. Unfortunately, bad weather is expected through the weekend, while the port is operational, delays should be expected.

Central Europe Flooding: Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, have faced severe flooding this week. The flooding has affected local infrastructures including some transport networks and container depots. Hapag-Lloyd has advised operations delays should be expected and container releases might be delayed. We will continue to monitor the situation and advise of any further delays.

*photo Paulo Cunha/EPA/abcnews.com