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2 >> 1 attention


Issue 2 2021 - Freight Business Journal was focussed on the


customs and trade facilitation aspects of freezones, he predicted that much of their value would come from any inward investment that they were able to attract. “The Big Bangs are the tax and investment incentives, which are extraordinarily generous,” he told the online gathering. But the customs


should not be underestimated, he added, particularly if freezone status meant that smaller firms, currently unable to take


advantage of regimes such as inward and outward processing relief, were able to do so simply by reason of the fact that they were sited in a freezone. According to the government


benefits


statement, freeport activities will be allowed in a radius of up to 45km from the designated port, although this should be treated as a maximum, said Waterston. The Treasury was in fact keen to encourage clusters of activity in ports and avoid a situation in which freeports ended up spanning the entire length of the


country. Sites benefitting from tax


and other incentives could be a maximum of 600 hectares, which could be divided into three separate sites. Few pieces of vacant land currently available in ports even approached that size, he suggested. The government statement


on 3 March covered only ports in England as decisions on freeports in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the devolved governments. UK Major Ports Group chief executive Tim


No fanfare from forwarders


British International Freight Association (BIFA) director general, Robert Keen said that the forwarders’ group was “indifferent” to the unveiling of the list of eight freeports in England on Budget Day. He questioned “whether freeports


will provide new advantages


compared to the existing Customs Special Procedures, which from 1 January 2021 no longer need a guarantee to operate”. He was more positive about other measures in the Budget,


Customs brokers dump


clients as trade struggles to cope with Brexit aſtermath


The shortage of customs brokers and expertise is badly affecting business, experts told a Parliamentary subcommittee on 8 February. Small firms are particularly badly affected. Long term smaller customers


are being discarded by their customs brokers in favour of new, larger clients as the industry grapples with a severe shortage of capacity, independent customs expert Anna Jerzewska told the meeting. She said that while there was some capacity still available in the industry, potential customers were having to look hard for it. She added that there was also a


shortage of people that could give companies advice on customs matters and that some of those attempting to do so were giving bad or incorrect information. Director general of the


Automated Customs and International Trade Association, Des Hiscock, also confirmed that there was a shortage of advisory expertise, while brokers were reluctant to take on firms that needed only a few clearances a year. Two days later, witnesses at a


House of Commons International Trade Committee enquiry on 11 February reported similar issues. Fisheries consultant, Terri Portmann said that the shortage of customs agents was particularly


severe in the EU adding: “Smaller operators are getting dropped in favour of larger customers.” Chief executive of the Food and


Drink Federation, Ian Wright told the Goods sub-committee that the UK would also need many more customs agents than were currently available when new import controls were introduced from 1 April. According to his calculations, the country could be 50,000 short, unless some sort of digitised system could be introduced to reduce the burden. Traders are also struggling to


cope with rules of origin. Anna Jerzewska said that currently available government guidance was “not fit for purpose”, especially with the current shortage of customs brokers. HMRC itself did not have the capacity to offer traders guidance, she added. Des Hiscock said that the


documentary requirements for rules of origin varied from country to country. He added: “It’s not as easy as filling out a couple of forms – and the potential sanctions if you misinterpret the rules are significant.” He said that his company was currently receiving 100 calls a week on the subject. Nor was it the case that companies could “buy a piece of soſtware” that would instantly solve the problem. Alex Veitch, general manager


including retention of the fuel duty freeze and the additional £126 million announced for apprenticeships and the raising of the cash incentive for employers to £3,000. But he added: “There was


Morris told the webinar that there was a clear process in Scotland for the ‘Greenports’ policy although there was as yet no timeframe. The situation in Wales and


Northern Ireland was less clear. Developments in Northern Ireland could be complicated by the province’s unique customs status as, effectively, part of the European Union. Indeed, as Waterston pointed out, the government’s document refers to Great Britain rather than the UK, so appears to explicitly exclude Northern Ireland.


no mention of the issues facing the aviation sector in either the announcement of the roadmap out of recovery, nor the Budget. This is a concern because a recovery in the passenger sector with an increasing number of flights carrying belly hold cargo will be necessary to allow the air cargo sector to fully recover.”


Another Brexit bypass - Morocco to Poole


United Seaways is to launch a ‘Brexit buster’ ro ro route direct from Tangier, Morocco to Poole. The operator says that the new


line, which has been in planning for over two years, will help bypass post-Brexit congestion and additional import procedures compared with


transiting Europe and will also significantly reduce emissions. The route will run once per


week and cut journey times to under three days, compared to more than six days by road and two ferry crossings from Morocco to Spain and across the Channel.


News Roundup


Luſthansa Cargo says it achieved the best financial result in its 26-year history in the 2020 financial year. Revenue rose by 11% to €2.76 billion euros, while adjusted earnings before interest and tax rocketed almost out of sight, from €1m to €772 million. Average load factor improved by 7.8% to 69.1% but cargo capacity shrank by 36%. Paradoxically, though, Luſthansa Cargo lost market share. Half of Luſthansa Cargo’s capacity is belly space on passenger flights operated by the parent airline, and this was reduced by two thirds during the Covid crisis.


///NEWS Air


Air cargo demand returned to pre-Covid levels in January 2019 for the first time since the onset of the crisis, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its latest figures. January demand also showed strong month-to-month growth over December 2020, it added. Global demand was up 1.1% compared to January 2019 and 3% compared to December 2020. All regions saw month- on-month improvement in air cargo demand, and North America and Africa were the strongest performers. But the recovery in global capacity was reversed owing to new cuts in passenger flights. Capacity shrank 19.5% compared to January 2019 and fell 5% compared to December 2020, the first monthly decline since April 2020.


Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has signed partnerships with trucking companies to offer a fleet of temperature-controlled GDP- certified vehicles to move pharma from the French provinces to Paris CDG Airport. The trucks are positioned in Bordeaux, Mulhouse, Lyon and Strasbourg and will initially offer a weekly schedule departing every Friday evening to WFS’ Pharma Centre at Paris CDG. The trucks are capable of transporting 23 Euro pallets and offer a 2-8°C temperature environment. Services ex -also provide a 15-25°C temperature option, a solution which can be expanded to the rest of France if needed.


Delta Cargo has set up a Vaccine Watch Tower to ensure that critical goods are shipped with the highest priority on its aircraſt and to monitor the entire journey from end to end. If there is a disruption, the Tower works across numerous divisions on a recovery plan to ensure the vaccines reach the final destination.


Netherlands-based Wholesale by Vels has signed a partnership with fellow wholesaler Consol Alliance to develop trade air cargo business on the Europe-Australia route. It will initially operate weekly, trade-only unitised airfreight consolidations from Amsterdam Schiphol to major Australian airports on premium carriers. Frequency is expected to increase over the coming months, and import services from Australia to Europe are also planned.


of public policy at Logistics UK said that most of his members had struggled to get support, especially advisory help. The witnesses however reported few problems


customs IT systems as such, with Chief, GVMS, Check and HGV and the Trader Support Service so far able to cope with the volume of


transactions through them. However, with


of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks are thrust upon it from July. Hiscock said: “My membership has a real fear that they will not be ready.” SPS checks are much more time-consuming than customs checks, most of which are only a formality, he said. Asked whether the customs


being pushed they


were concerned at how eventual Chief successor, CDS would cope when it started to accept large numbers of Northern Ireland transactions from early March. There are also concerns about


how Customs and its systems will cope when large numbers


problems had led to a shortage of trucks or an increase in the number of trucks returning from the UK empty to the Continent, Logistics UK’s Alex Veitch said that


little information was


currently available but what there was suggested that the proportion


of empties had increased from its normal 30%


European parcels giant DPD says its revenue grew 42% during the Covid crisis. Takings hit £11 billion in 2020, with 1.9 billion parcels delivered worldwide, or 7.5 million a day. Profits doubled to €800 million. DPD Group said that Covid 19 led to a surge in parcel demand.


United Airlines is to add daily flights between Boston Logan International Airport and London Heathrow. The route will be operated by a Boeing 767-300ER aircraſt.


to about 55%. Logistics UK was however carrying out a survey which would shortly give much more accurate data, he added. Groupage cargoes posed


particular challenges, the panel of experts said. Hiscock suggested that there could be a requirement for customs controlled warehouses where road groupage shipments could be handled.


imposition of


Veitch added that the cabotage rules


could have serious implications for transporters of stage sets and similar for touring musicians as well as sporting events. Logistics UK would support a negotiated agreement with the EU. He would also be in favour of liberalisations of the fiſth freedom rules for UK airlines moving freight in the EU.


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