COVID-19 (Coronavirus) update – 9th April 2020
We have had numerous queries in relation to charter aircraft, airfreight rates and seafreight rates throughout this very difficult period.
It is without doubt a challenge for airlines. It has been widely documented within the airline industry, due to the travel bans, are losing millions, if not billions of dollars whilst planes remain idle at airports. There are several options to charter planes or to be included in the overall charter by Vox and our partners and we are generally able to move airfreight from any part of the world.
The one area not so well publicised is the plight of shipping lines. Like the airlines, these companies have been subject to massive reductions in volumes which has meant massive losses being incurred by the shipping lines. It has also meant that there has been an imbalance in equipment throughout the world and the shipping lines have had to ferry thousands of empty containers between countries to get the equipment where it is needed.
However, the shipping lines are still moving goods globally and with blank sailings, capacity cuts they are managing to keep the freight rates relatively stable.
With both modes of transport, the key is planning and should you need cargo moved in a certain way, by a certain time please contact us as early as possible.
Increasing charges
Throughout the import and export industry most of the information over the past 6 months has been in relation to increases in fees whether it be Border Force, Department of Agriculture, Stevedores, transport companies and any other company in the supply chain. The latest “surcharge” being implemented by some companies is a “Health and Safety Surcharge”.
We are not naïve to the increase in costs in relation to health and safety along with social distancing however in these times with businesses struggling to trade, it is our opinion that we need to work with our clients and minimise these increases as much as possible.
For the current foreseeable future Vox will not be implementing a health and safety surcharge on our forwarding clients. We will work with our clients to provide a premium service at the right cost point and in partnership with our clients to assist each other to not only get through this period but come out the other side in a stronger position.
We wish all our clients and partners a safe and Happy Easter, and should you need to discuss any of your requirements or just need a chat because we are all working from home, please give us a call at Vox. |
