25 containers seized! Seller: One seizure is a waste of a year's work

Due to the non-compliant operations of logistics companies, there have been many cases of goods being detained in the industry. For sellers, a single detention may mean a year's hard work is wasted.

Recently, a freight forwarder had 25 containers detained, and there must be quite a few sellers involved. In addition, the West Coast and East Coast ports of the United States are seriously congested, and more than $40 billion worth of goods are waiting to enter the port in the waters around North America. Before the peak season arrives, sellers are eager to find a regular and efficient freight method to avoid running out of stock and missing the peak season.

25 containers were detained, and non-compliant shipments caused losses to sellers

Recently, a seller revealed that a large number of containers of a logistics company in Shenzhen were detained, and the company wanted to run away with the money after collecting the shipping fees from the sellers. This made the shipping sellers anxious and also made fellow sellers eager to be vigilant and avoid risks.

Subsequently, the Shenzhen logistics company involved in the incident issued a statement, saying that the company did not run away with the money, and that the warehouse space and freight payable for the advance payment of 500,000 yuan were paid to the partner company on the same day or the next day. However, the logistics company admitted that 25 containers were indeed detained and could not be picked up, and it is currently processing the matter.

The sellers who use these containers to ship goods would never have thought that the money was paid normally, but the goods were detained, and the subsequent losses are incalculable.

In fact, it is not uncommon for goods to be detained at present. The freight market is a mixed bag. Due to the rapid development of the cross-border logistics industry, a number of freight middlemen have emerged. They often perform non-compliant operations, or have no intention of doing business properly. They solicit business by purchasing goods at low prices, and many of them run away with the money. The seller pays for the goods, but the money does not reach the upstream party, and the upstream party finally detains the goods because they did not receive the money.

In addition, some freight forwarders have detained goods due to improper operations, causing considerable losses to the shipping sellers.

A seller said that he sent more than a dozen boxes of goods by sea to the Amazon FBA warehouse in the United States. After arriving at the customs, the freight forwarder told him that the entire container had been inspected by customs. Three months later, other people's goods were released, but his goods were still detained. When he consulted the freight forwarder, he learned that the goods infringed the rights. He asked the freight forwarder to provide an inspection form, but the freight forwarder failed to provide it.

The freight forwarder asked the seller to provide a certificate of non-infringement, but the seller was unable to provide it due to the high cost. The freight forwarder advised the seller to destroy the goods.

Another seller had a similar situation. The product he asked a freight forwarder to ship was not a sensitive product. At that time, the freight forwarder repeatedly promised that there would be absolutely no problem and told the seller that he could avoid paying tariffs and the impact would not be significant. As a result, the seller's goods were stuck at the customs. In the end, the freight forwarder shirked responsibility, believing that there was a problem with the goods. In the end, the seller's goods were detained. The seller couldn't help but complain: "From receiving the goods to shipping, not a single step is professional. It's hard not to be cheated by such a freight forwarder!"

There are many such cases. In the industry, there are also frequent cases where goods are detained and sellers are busy suing freight forwarders. After the goods are detained, the sellers often suffer heavy losses. Some people lament: "One detention is a waste of a year's work!"

Due to the freight forwarder's non-compliant operations, the arrival time of the seller's detained goods has become unknown. Given the current severe congestion at US ports, logistics timeliness cannot be guaranteed, and sellers' lack of goods to sell will directly impact their peak season performance.

U.S. ports are congested, with $40 billion worth of goods waiting to enter

The congestion at US ports is still ongoing. Currently, the ports in the West and East of the US are severely congested, and some ports have been completely paralyzed. The congestion has slowed down the time for picking up containers, and there are long queues of trucks for picking up containers. Delays in sellers' goods are inevitable. This wave of congestion may be caused by a shortage of dock workers.

Earlier this month, when the original contract between the employer and the union of the US West Coast dock expired, the "no strike" clause of the US West Coast dock workers also expired because the two sides failed to reach a consensus on extending the contract at the last minute. The negotiation involved a new labor contract for more than 22,000 US West Coast port workers, and also covered 29 ports in the US West Coast, which handle nearly 40% of the total US imports.

The situation at the west coast ports in the United States is unclear. Based on the principle of safety first, some shippers began to shift from the west coast line to the east coast line some time ago. The cargo volume at the east coast ports and the Gulf of Mexico increased significantly, and the congestion center of US ports also began to shift to the east coast.

Recently, 36% of the ships are waiting to berth outside the West Coast ports of the United States, and 64% of the ships are gathered in ports along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. It is estimated that these cargo ships waiting to enter the ports in the waters around North America are loaded with more than $40 billion worth of goods.

In addition to the United States, the current European port problem is becoming more and more serious, with a large number of empty containers piling up at the ports. Due to labor shortages and port congestion, the productivity of European terminals is also declining. When European and American ports are congested, some shipping companies have also stopped sailing.

According to the latest data from Drewry, among the major routes such as trans-Pacific, trans-Atlantic, Asia-Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, 83 voyages have been cancelled out of 755 scheduled voyages between Week 28 and Week 32, with a cancellation rate of 11%. Among the cancelled voyages, 69% of the blank voyages will occur on the trans-Pacific eastbound route, mainly to the west coast of the United States.

As shipping companies suspended operations, some shipping freight rates in Europe and the United States began to rebound. After the World Container Freight Index fell for 19 consecutive weeks, some routes to Europe and the United States began to rise against the trend recently. Last week, the freight rate from Shanghai to New York Port saw a slight increase.

Port congestion causes cargo delays, and non-compliant operations by freight forwarders cause cargo to be detained. Various factors have led to great uncertainty in sellers' freight. If the goods are not delivered before the peak season this year, sellers are likely to miss the opportunity to make a big splash. In order to put the goods on the shelves and sell them before the peak season, air transportation is a good choice.

Compared with sea transport, air transport is more flexible, convenient, fast and efficient, and can ensure that sellers do not miss the peak season. Sunshine Yunlu, a subsidiary of Sunshine Cross-border Platform, launched the first air delivery from Shanghai to the United States, with more than 4 flights a week to Los Angeles, 5-8 working days of extremely fast delivery, full-process tracking by logistics consultants, and quotes as low as 86/KG+12/piece. Sellers can achieve efficient and compliant cross-border parcel shipment without adding additional costs. The online launch of this product will be held on the afternoon of the 20th of this month, covering popular export routes and supporting sellers to export in compliance.

Sunshine Cross-border Platform leads the cross-border compliance track, helping sellers achieve logistics compliance at the lowest cost and avoid various uncertainties in the transportation of sellers' goods. The platform allows sellers to declare under their own company name, obtain real trade data for customs clearance, and realize the return of funds to the company's public account. In this way, sellers can not only enjoy the policy benefits of cross-border e-commerce exports, but also do not have to worry about regulatory and tax issues.

From the rise of cross-border overseas businesses, to sellers' frequent failures in shipping, to tax risk incidents, compliance in cross-border trade is imperative. With the normalization of the epidemic in 2022, the "war" for overseas sellers to operate in compliance and seize the high ground has begun. Sunshine Cross-border Platform helps sellers operate in the compliance track for a long time.

Click on the QR code below or click on the entrance to sign up for the Sunshine Yunlu online launch event and seize the high ground of e-commerce overseas expansion.

Detention of goods

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