February 3, 2021 – Spot rates on the transpacific trade lane remain stratospheric. Liners are cancelling voyages this month due to the port crunch on the U.S. west coast, pushing even more volume to the months after Chinese New Year. It now appears spot rates will remain strong all the way through the second quarter. They may ebb from current highs, but they almost certainly won’t crash. This is exactly the scenario U.S. importers feared. They will have to negotiate their annual contracts – which generally expire by May 1 – in the midst of a spot-rate boom.
January 31, 2021 – Now that E-manifest filings have been enacted in Canada for all goods inbound into the country via any mode of transport, we are now seeing widespread adoption by our customers, shippers, and competitors. We continue to encourage our customers to advise us if they have any questions on this new legislation that was 6 years in the making by sending us an email to emanifest. We remain ready to assist with any shipments that are not yet compliant. As previously communicated, the current transition period allows for zero rated penalties but enforcement has already begun. Readers are encouraged to sign up to receive our newsletter for more detailed information.
January 25, 2021 – The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said Thursday one in six, or about 181,000, Canadian small business owners are now seriously contemplating closing. The latest figures, based on a survey of the CFIB’s members done between Jan. 12 and 16, come on top of 58,000 businesses that became inactive in 2020. Based on the organization’s updated forecast, more than 2.4 million people could be out of work – a staggering 20 percent of private-sector jobs.
January 21, 2021 – As a result of continued congestion in the Toronto area, many trucking companies are now instituting companies a Terminal Waiting Time Fee and an Inability to Return Empty Container Fee. Canaan Transport continues to work with both our trucking partners and our customers to ensure that services provided are fairly compensated.
January 20, 2021 – Currently, importers of meat, fish, dairy, eggs, processed eggs, processed fruits or vegetables, honey, maple and fresh fruits or vegetables are required to hold a valid Safe Food for Canadians licence (SFC licence) to import food into Canada. As of March 15, 2021, food import transactions will automatically be rejected unless a valid SFC licence is entered in the Integrated Import Declaration (IID). If a transaction is rejected, the SFC licence holder may experience delays and have their related food shipment(s) held at the border until the error is addressed and the import transaction is resubmitted. The information regarding the SFC licence must:
• be declared correctly, without mistakes or typos
• cover the activity of "Importing Food"
• cover the food commodity or commodities you intend to import
January 18, 2021 – Cargojet announced this week it had raised C$350m (US$275.2m) to help it acquire five 767 and two 777 freighters for delivery from this year into 2023. It will also invest in a new hangar and additional land-based infrastructure and pay off debt, it said. This is in addition to Air Canada’s announcement to convert two of its 767-300ER aircraft into full freighters. These should be ready by the end of 2021.
January 15, 2021 – As a result of a state of emergency announced by the province, we will be taking further measures to protect our team members by encouraging them to work from home where possible. Our office will be operated by a skeleton staff and we ask for your patience in delays due to our team members being offsite. If you have an urgent matter, please call us at 416.621.6800.
January 13, 2021 – The purpose of this message is to update you on the current situation as it relates to the overall supply chain congestion in Canadian ports. As you may be aware, major rail providers in the Greater Toronto and Greater Montreal area are experiencing a high level of volumes and congestion in their yards. This is causing a ripple effect to other depots in the area as empty import return containers have had to be redirected to their yards. These depots are now reaching maximum capacity, resulting in longer wait times or an inability to accepting empty import returns until space becomes available. The carriers are working to resolve this backlog as quickly as possible and are starting to see results. Concerns may continue to be noted until early March 2021, based on overall demand and capacity.
January 10, 2021 – In a further sign of the unprecedented times that we are in, many forwarders are engaged in fierce bidding wars in China, in order to secure equipment and space to North America and Europe. And several carriers are reported to have opened first- and second-round tenders with the highest bidders for guaranteed shipment this month. Carriers are inviting offers for available slots on end-January sailings from Shanghai, Ningbo, Qingdao and Yantian. Canaan Transport disagrees with this practice of paying exorbitant amounts for guaranteed space but we will provide all possible options to our customers in order to secure space as required.
January 7, 2021 – Generally, factories in China close for the duration of the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday – this year from February 12 to 26 – but 2021 looks like it could be different, with varying closure dates across the country. In southern China, lots of factories will shut down much earlier than usual this year; people are off from the middle of January, a month prior to CNY so the last feeder sailing is closed earlier than before, like by January 20, which means the cargo ex-factory date should be also the middle of January. Some factories have advanced the holiday starting time, but also advanced the re-opening time, to differ from the others. Everyone does it their own way now. Others claim some factories will stay open as the Chinese government looks to minimize the movement of people owing to COVID-19.