What should freight forwarders do when the shipping schedule is unstable, the lack of containers is serious, and the trailer cost is high?

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Since the pandemic outbreak in May, the shipping schedules of Shenzhen Shekou and Yantian terminals have not been very stable, and there are often temporary adjustments. Coupled with the serious shortage of containers now, the work of communication and inquiry in the trailers arrangement has become more complicated, and the cost of the trailers is also much higher. In order to coordinate the trailers and control the cost better, Jane Liu, the operation manager of Sunny Worldwide Logistics summarized the precautions of the trailer to us as follows, please refer to it as needed, thank you.

First, Yantian Terminal

Calculate 7 days back based on the time point of the ETB inquired by the terminal. For example, the ETB is July 28, and the earliest return container time is July 22. Yantian limits the reservation and return numbers to 11,000 containers per day.

Yantian Terminal Website: https://www.156yt.cn/publicInfoService/index.action

Second, Shekou Terminal

Calculate 4 days back based on the time of the ETA inquired by the terminal (and pay attention to the time). For example, the ETA is 01:00 on July 28, and the earliest return time is 01:00 on July 24. Shekou daily limit the reserved containers numbers is 8000 containers.

Shekou Terminal Website: http://eport.scctcn.com/publicquery/danxiangsonumber

Third, Trailer Occupying or Container Dropping

The cut-off point for the return time mentioned above is a temporary plan made by the terminal, but the shipping schedule will be adjusted temporarily. For example, the ETB that was queried the day before the container was loaded is July 23, and the normal return is July 17, that is you can return it back after 24 o'clock in the evening on the 16th. 

However, the shipping schedule has changed again on the day of loading. ETB has been postponed to July 25. In this case, the earliest return time is July 19. (Please watch the schedule comparison of A/B in the screenshot below).

In this case, the trailer is not easy to control, so there will be costs for trailer occupying or container dropping.

Fourth, Shipping Company Plan ≠ Final Terminal Plan

The shipping schedules of the shipping company to release SO are the shipping company's plans, but not the final terminal plan, so the shipping company's plan can only be used for reference. If the SO of a cabinet is opened on July 13th, the cut-off time is July 19th, but now the earliest tentative return time for this vessel is July 19th.

In such a situation, Jane Liu suggested that we find a booking agent to apply for a delay in the customs cut-off time. Now when encountering the booking agent themselves, they don’t know the operation situation of the terminal very well. They just follow the plan of the shipping company to make the request with the freight forwarder, so more communication and explanation are needed to do with customers for this situation.

Fifth, Pre-pick up Container Shipping Information(SI)

​Regarding the problem of SI of the pre-pick up container, because the shipping schedule is not punctual, the replenishment time of many freight forwarders is according to the ship company's plan.

If your planned loading time happens to the shipping delay and has not yet opened to the return time to the terminal, please contact the forwarder to apply for the delayed replenishment time; if the forwarder confirms that the ship company will not allow to delay, then you must consider in advance to bring out the container to offer SI. In this case, there will be pre-pick up container SI fees + possible container rent (because the ship company's free container rent from picking up to returning is only limited to 3 days, and some are 5 days, but since the implementation of terminal restrictions of returning the container time, plus the shipping schedule is always delayed, now most shipping companies will extend the container free time. This requires the booking agent to verify or apply for more off-site container free time.)

Sixth, Pick up the Container Off-site

Now some ship companies are in short supply of empty containers, and ship company's containers may be stored at various sites, so there is the possibility of remotely picking up the containers when ordering. In this case, there will be a fee for remotely picking up containers. At the same time, when there are not many containers, in order to ensure that the containers can be obtained, usually you may consider taking the container out in advance when you place an order, so that there will be a pre-pick up container fee and cabinet rent.

Based on the above situation, the trailer arrangement plan is as below:

First check the terminal return plan to determine the loading time;

Then check the SI time to consider whether to offer SI in advance (if the SI cannot be delayed).

If there is a shortage of containers, you should also consider taking the containers in advance. Therefore, the additional costs that may be incurred include SI fees, trailer occupying fees or container dropping fees, and cabinet rents.

Thanks to Jane Liu for sharing a lot of useful knowledges for us.

As the saying goes, "there is no difficulty in picking up and returning the container, only the courageous forwarder" (just kidding). The uncertain shipping schedule makes our hearts even more unstable. While lamenting the uncertain shipping schedule, the colleagues patiently explained various issues to the customer. They have tested the communication ability, adaptability and the ability to cooperate with the Marketing Department and Operation Department, and became an all-around freight forwarder. Sunny Worldwide Logistics take care of the cargo more than the owner, it's not just a talk~