Hapag Lloyd announces loss for 1st Quarter 2009

Almost no one is making money in international shipping these days. Especially not container carriers.

The announcement of first quarter loss by Hapag Lloyd of 302 Million USD, on revenues of 1.5 Billion USD highlights how bad it is.

A German bank is forecasting what Hapag Lloyd will lose for the year 2009....

Commerzbank, a German bank, has forecast Hapag-Lloyd will lose around $545 million in 2009.

If they already lost 302 Million in the first quarter, I think this forecast is a bit low. One would think the loss would be closer to maybe 700 Million.

click here for complete article from Journal of Commerce

Importer Security Filing, or 10+2

The Journal of Commerce is offering a Live Teleconference, to discuss 10+2 on
Friday, December 12, 2008 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM,Eastern Time Zone. They are charging 99.00 to participate. click here for more info

These are the highlights they plan to address.

On Nov. 25, U.S. Customs and Border Protection published an interim final rule called the Importer Security Filing. While that’s its official name, it has become known in the trade as 10+2 because it will require importers and ocean carriers to report 12 data elements that are not included on a ship’s manifest. Customs says the data are essential for better targeting of cargo that may be a security risk to the United States. Customs issued a proposed rule in January, which caused a stir in the trade community. How will importers get the data? How would it be filed? How would Customs collect the data? How much was it going to cost to comply? The interim rule allows additional public comment on selected parts of the ISF until June 1, 2009. Customs will phase in enforcement of the rule over a year, and promises the trade a “soft landing” to mitigate the effects of the additional reporting requirements.

It might be worthwhile, but if you have a good customs broker, you might want to call them first. They can probably tell you all you need to know.