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Dispatch from Gen Con 2022

How Is A Shipping Container Made?

Learn How Long It Takes To Make a Shipping Container and Why There is a Current Shortage Just like you don’t think about how a box of frozen waffles found it’s way to your freezer, it’s probably unlikely that you’ve ever seriously considered how involved and intricate the process of making a shipping container can be (even if you work in the shipping industry!) The process shares many similarities with putting together that cardboard box of waffles, at a much larger scale. It takes teams of hundred of specialized assembly line workers (welders, painters, etc.)…
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Sheltered International to Offer Managed Transportation

All of Your Logistics Solutions in One Place Sheltered International is excited to share we will now be offering managed transportation. If you’re looking to outsource all of your logistics operations or just a specific segment, such as supply chain discovery or shipment optimization, managed transportation is the best way to grow your business with the assistance of our shipping expertise. Sheltered International will use these new services to enhance our already existing resources of satellite tracking, document management, notification management and delivery deadline tracking. What that means for you, the shipper, is you will…
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Power Crunch Races Through China

Perfect Storm of Circumstances Decimates China’s Energy Grid Extreme weather, an increased demand for energy and strict limits imposed by the government on coal usage are leading to rolling blackouts throughout Northeast China and the rest of the country. The timing is inauspicious for a global supply chain already stretched dangerously thin, especially as we enter the peak shipping season and year-end holidays for European and American markets. Why Is There A Power Crunch? Over the summer, factories in ten Chinese provinces have cut output or closed temporarily, following government-imposed power cuts to curb carbon…
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Port Congestion Reaches Breaking Point in US

Biden Administration Aims to Correct Supply Chain Delays Most of the attention of the global supply chain throughout the Covid-19 pandemic has been on the port congestion seen in China, however, as the holiday season draws closer, the focus is shifting towards backlogs in the United States, especially in the Southern California ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. The congestion at American ports has reached such a critical point that President Biden’s Supply Chain Task Force, initiated in June as a temporary stopgap, has directed the Port of Los Angeles to move to 24/7…
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California Ports Resorting to Fines to Ease Shipping Backlog

New Incentives to Remove Congestion Ports across the globe have been dealing with backlogs and delays to the global supply chain from the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Since then, local, national, and international governments have been exploring every option available to them to lessen the shipping backlog at crucial choke points. Port Congestion Leads to Supply Chain Crisis Beginning November 1st UPDATE 11/16/21: Fees will now begin 11/22, fines may be issued to unmoved cargo containers off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. The dozens of unmoved containers…
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How to Manage Post-Pandemic Inventories

Supply Chain Crisis Forcing Re-Evaluation In early November, the prevailing concern across the shipping and retail industries was would products arrive on shelves in time for the holidays. For the most part, it appears stores will have some goods for Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday sales. It was an extremely close call, though, as there are still major backlogs in ports around the globe, including here in the United States. This holiday scare is the latest in a series of post-pandemic aftershocks that are forcing companies to re-evaluate the way they order…
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Shipping Companies Are Taking Advantage of Pandemic Profits

Increased Demand, Increased Profits The global supply chain continues to be a mess. There are delays in ports around the globe and backlogs at every step of the way. Shipping costs are 20 times more per container than before the pandemic. However, expenses for shipping lines have remained relatively constant. This translates to one of the most profitable periods ever for a historically low-margin industry. So, what are the world’s largest shipping companies doing with their newfound pandemic profits? A whole lot, it turns out. The industry leader, Maersk, is investing their war chest in…
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Port Congestion Expected to Continue Into the New Year

High Consumer Demand Prolongs U.S. Port Congestion Already high consumer demand is growing, causing imports from Asia to continue congesting U.S. ports. Imports are forecast to remain elevated into February and push even higher in the second quarter of 2022. 2022 to Bring an Early Peak Season for Imports U.S. ports have been struggling with congestion all year, and this is expected to continue into the new year. The annual Lunar New Year lull is typically a period of time that allows any backlogged cargo to be cleared up, but 2022’s “lull” is only expected…
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In Conversation with Licensed Customs Broker Michelle Rockwell

The Past, Present and Future of the Customs Industry Today on the blog, we had the chance to sit down with Michelle Rockwell, a Licensed Customs Broker and Operations Manager here at SiShips. Rockwell is a veritable fount of knowledge for all aspects of importing and exporting. Her career has spanned thirty years in the shipping industry. Rockwell has been a valued member of the SiShips team for the last seven years. Over the course of our conversation we touched on a variety of topics, including Rockwell’s unique experience as a Licensed Customs Broker, what…
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Inflation Caused by Transportation and Warehousing Costs

Inflation Grows With Rising Freight Rates Inflation continues to rise as the costs of transportation and warehousing goods for final demand has increased by more than 18% this November. Comparing this data to earlier years shows this is the largest annual increase since 2009.  Covid-19 Contributes to Inflation Tensions   Photo Courtesy of Daniel Schludi Materials like iron ore, steel, and even finished products ready for market have to move as raw materials that are processed in global manufacturing. All companies have to factor in the cost of transporting goods, and this is typically a fraction…
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