News - Category: Exporting

The Unplanned Costs and Penalties of Non-Compliant Merchandise Exportation Due to ISPM 15 Regulations

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Recent Changes that Impact Wood Packaging Material

The penalties for non-compliant ISPM 15 wood packaging materials (WPM) are a serious matter to take into consideration when selecting components for the design of a unit load. Besides penalty costs, the end user will require a duplicate shipment if customs liquidates the product held up instead of denying entry.  With customer delivery late fees becoming a common business occurrence as well, the actual cost of saving a few cents on some pallets could become a costly mistake in the long-term.

WPM is a key component for the transportation and handling of unit loads throughout supply chains in today’s global market. The objects classified as WPM are pallets, skids, crates, bracing, dunnage, and wood components that are thicker than 0.24 in. (6 mm). The shipment and treatment of these items across any major country’s border have been regulated due to the negative impact on forests, from the migration of several insect species across the globe.

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Export Import Bank Reauthorization To Boost U.S. Exports

ex-im-bank-sealAfter the most contentious debate in years, legislation reauthorizing the Export Import Bank was officially signed into law during a recent White House Ceremony.    The reauthorization measure raises the EX-IM Bank’s lending limit from $100 to $140 million over the next three years and includes new auditing requirements to ensure EX-IM resources are used in a prudent manner.  This year’s reauthorization required some unusual election year bipartisanship on the Hill, coupled with lobbying efforts by groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.  According to an official statement issued by NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons, the EX-IM Bank directly supports over 290,000 U.S. jobs that are tied to the export sector.Continue Reading…

Reshoring Trend is Good News For American Manufacturing

A recent article by Patrick Burnson appearing in Logistics Management suggests major manufacturers such as Caterpillar, Ford, Boeing, and GE plan to relocate current offshore manufacturing operations in the U.S. over the next 2-3 years.  The current trend toward reshoring is a function of rising wage inflation in countries such as China combined with gains in U.S. productivity, a shrinking landed cost gap (the cost of shipping goods from origin to their final destination), and higher shipping costs associated with increasing fuel prices.Continue Reading…

INCOTERMS®: Staying on Top of Exporting Terminology

Export-loaded container shipThe International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) annually publishes a revised version to its International Commercial Terms, also known as INCOTERMS®, that take effect on January 1 of a given year. INCOTERMS are a set of three-letter standard trade terms most commonly used in international contracts for the sale of goods. First published in 1936, INCOTERMS provide internationally accepted definitions and rules of interpretation for most common commercial terms. In the US, INCOTERMS are increasingly used in domestic sales contracts rather than UCC shipment and delivery terms. Perhaps the most frequently cited – FOB – FREE ON BOARD (… named port of shipment) defines that: The Seller delivers the goods on board the ship and clears the goods for export. From that point, the Buyer bears all costs and risks of loss or damage.

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Wooden Export Pallets: Canada Prepares for Treated Shipping Pallets

Article from Modern Materials Handling suggests bi-lateral exemption on treated pallets may be ending in 2014.

An interesting story recently came out in MMH reflecting a potentially longer timeline than previously thought on required compliance with international shipping regulations regarding treatment of wood products used for shipping between USA and Canada. Bob Trebilcock, editor at Modern material Handling has been questioned by leading manufacturers who ship from the United States into Canada asking whether they will have to treat their pallets and if so, when.

The questions are directed to Trebilcock, to get clarification on a proposal posted in late December 2010 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS.) That original proposal would remove the exemption from ISPM 15 on wood packaging material moving between Canada and the United States in both directions beginning in 2011.

“Right now, we’re the only jurisdiction in the world that has this bi-lateral agreement not to require treated pallets between our two countries,” Eggertson of the Canadian Wood Pallet and Container Association is quoted as saying in the article. Given that an estimated 300 million pallets pass back and forth each year between the two countries, it’s a big deal.

Of course here at LITCO, we are ready for ISPM 15 Certified Pallet regulations because we have been supplying US companies with these international-safe shipping pallets for years.

Congressional Reauthorization of Export-Import Bank Strengthens Small Business Exporters and the US Economy

ex-im-bank-sealThe United States government’s vehicle for promoting U.S. export sales, the Export-Import (Ex-IM) Bank has been reauthorized to operate for three years. On Tuesday, May 15, 2012, the Senate passed the bill previously passed by the House of Representatives. In addition to the re-authorization, the bill also raises the independent federal agency’s lending cap gradually from the current $100 billion to an eventual cap of $140 billion in 2014.

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