There are shippers chartering again! This time it is American retail giant Wal-Mart! And the shipper directly buys the terminal
The US retail giant Wal-Mart rents ships on its own, and Canada's largest container importer acquires terminals in response to supply chain disruptions.
After Home Depot, one of the three largest importers in North America, directly chartered ships for itself, American retail giant Wal-Mart also decided to use its own capacity to ship goods to the Trans-Pacific region, instead of paying to global liner companies that frequently delay ships. Shipping goods at sky-high freight rates.
The American retail giant said that due to supply chain disruptions that continue to threaten sales, the company has chartered multiple ships to meet demand for goods.
On Tuesday’s earnings conference call, Wal-Mart’s CEO John Furner revealed: “We have chartered ships, have secured capacity in the third and fourth quarters, and are satisfied with the current commodity inventory situation, especially compared to last year. In comparison, the inventory of various departments has increased by 20%, which can well cope with the cost pressure expected in the third and fourth quarters."
Executive vice president and chief financial officer Brett Biggs said that Wal-Mart benefited from the US government's stimulus plan and its food sales increased by US$2.4 billion year-on-year. Now, Wal-Mart is looking forward to a strong back-to-school season.
However, Biggs added that the current supply chain issues are a major issue and we need to mitigate these effects, which is why we charter vessels specifically for Wal-Mart’s cargo.
Steve Ferreira, CEO of consulting firm Ocean Audit, said that Wal-Mart has completed two voyages, both of which arrived in the United States this month, using 53-foot Wal-Mart-branded containers. The first voyage was loaded with 177 53-foot-long containers, and the second was loaded with 247 containers of the same size.
Shippers' decision to control their supply chain is not limited to chartering ships.
It is reported that Canadian Tire Corporation, Canada's largest container importer, has acquired a 25% stake in Ashcroft, the largest inland port in British Columbia, Canada.
The transaction price was 40 million Canadian dollars, or about 32 million U.S. dollars. At the same time, the terminal operator Singapore International Ports (PSA) will continue to retain 60% of the shares.
Ashcroft Wharf is located about 300 kilometers east of Vancouver. It is the only large-scale private industrial estate in Canada connected by a first-class railway line (Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway). Canada and other North American markets.
Canadian Tire is one of Canada's most popular retail brands. Founded in 1922 and headquartered in Toronto, there are more than 1,000 retail stores. The business covers the retail of automotive supplies, leisure sports goods, household products, oil and gas industry and financial services.
According to the announcement, Canadian Tire will further expand its customer base and enable Ashcroft Terminals to develop tailor-made solutions for retailers in North America, while continuing to expand its services to bulk customers.
Canadian Tire Chief Supply Chain Officer Paul Draffin believes that this investment will improve the company's transportation network delivery time and cargo delivery performance, and will reduce its carbon emissions in Western Canada by shifting truck traffic to rail.
Draffin said: "Strategic access to high-demand capacity will allow us to better control the end-to-end supply chain, which is becoming more and more important in the period when the global supply chain encounters bottlenecks."
