|
Going further for our valued publishing clients
Our annual tour of the world’s largest conferences for the publishing industry begins next month with a stop at the Olympia in West London, England, the new location for the annual London Book Fair. This year’s theme is Making Words Go Farther, a reflection of the many new ways published works are being delivered to consumers. That change is further underlined by the wording used to describe the Fair: “The global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and digital channels”.
“It’s a mistake to assume that publishing is just about books,” says Mark Glionna, Vice President – Client Relations. “It’s so much more and we are committed to staying up-to-date on anything that could impact the more than 100 publishing industry importers and exporters who are our clients.”
You can find Mr. Glionna and Chris Barnard, Vice President – Projects & Market Development, at the BookFreight booth (Stand 6B86). BookFreight is a worldwide network of freight forwarders specializing in the book trade. Universal is a founding member and the sole representative fromCanada.
For more information, contact Chris Barnard, Vice President – Projects & Market Development.
Continuing congestion at U.S. West Coast ports
|
 |
|
It will take several months to clear the backlog of containers waiting for births at the Port of Los Angeles and other key U.S. west coast ports. |
|
|
The serious backlog of containers at U.S. West Coast ports, created by a protracted labour dispute, will take 2-3 months to clear. Shore crews are working nights and weekends, but there is still not enough staff to clear the backlog. Southern U.S ports are expected to return to normal operations a little more quickly than northernports.
Meanwhile, the demand for airfreight has increased, leading to price increases that are expected to continue until normal ocean freight operations resume. For example, The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines reported a seven percent increase in volumes in January of this year.
For more information, contact David Lychek, Manager – Ocean & Air Services.
Are you crossing the border with personal or commercial goods?
Don’t make the mistake of assuming that the same Customs rules apply for personal and commercial goods transported in your personal vehicle across the U.S border. The process for personal goods is relatively quick as you are only required to declare the goods and pay the applicable duty or fees.
However, if you are transporting commercial goods for import or export everything changes, starting with how U.S. Customs views your vehicle. It is now considered a commercial vehicle and as such is subject to the requirements and regulations for that vehicle type, including pre-arrival electronic notification to Customs. Other Customs entry formalities are dependent on the type of goods and the value. For example, any goods subject to another federal agency’s approval, such as food and drug products, have to be cleared as a formal entry. The same applies if the goods have a value of over$2,500.
Other rules apply for cross border shipments made by air.
For more information, contact Brian Rowe, General Manager – Customs Consulting Services.
Preliminary anti-dumping ruling against
Chinese exporters of solar modules
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) has made a “preliminary determination of injury” after finding that certain Photovoltaic Modules (solar modules) and Laminates are being dumped in Canada by Chinese exporters. The targeted companies may have to pay a 286% increase in duty. A final decision will be made in July, 2015.
For more information, contact Brian Rowe, General Manager – Customs Consulting Services.
Proof air freight security has come a long way
|
 |
|
Can you imagine spending three
days inside an air freight crate?
It actually happened. |
|
|
Airport security has never been higher. But it was not always that way and back in the 60s security was so lax that a bold (and broke) Australian athlete shipped himself from London, England to Perth, Australia. He made the trip inside a slightly customized wooden airfreight box that was not scanned – something that would never happen today.
The entire trip, lasting three full days, included a 24-hour delay at the London airport and four hours at an extremely hot airport in Bombay. The “smuggler” emerged unscathed in Perth and was able to leave the airport property unseen by cutting a hole in a storage building wall, another step that would be impossible with today’s airport security.
Can you name this major transportation hub in southern Europe?
See if you can name this stylish European city after looking over the following written and pictorial
clues.
- With five major railway stations, including the one shown in the picture (right), this city is one of the most important transportation hubs in southern Europe
- Served by three international airports, including the second busiest airport in thecountry
- Boasts Europe’s largest trade fair network, attracting 4.5 million visitors per year
- Recognized as one of the world’s leading fashion centers, with 12,000 fashion companies, 800showrooms, 6,000 sales outlets and four weeks dedicated to fashion annually
- Home of Europe’s largest opera house, built in 1776 and able to seat two thousand spectators
- A major manufacturing center with significant automotive, chemical, machinery, engineering, pharmaceutical and plastic operations
 Click here to see the answer
For more information about freight to/from this city, contact Debbie McGuire, Manager – FreightSolutions.
Timing is everything with your international trading partners
 Remember to take into account time zones when you are communicating with your international trading partners. Anyone working in Europe is generally 5-6 hours ahead, so start your day by speaking with them.
Use the mid-day to communicate with trading partners in your time zone and reserve the end of the day for business contacts on the West Coast of North America (who are three hours ahead) or correspondence to contacts in Asia or Europe, who will see it first thing when they start their workday.
At Your Service – Veena Ramesh, Air Imports & Exports
|
 |
|
Veena Ramesh,
Air Imports & Exports
|
Veena Ramesh is typical of the employees who make up the freight team at Universal Logistics. She has just the right mix of practical experience (10 years of day-to-day handling of both air and ocean freight import shipments) and professional training (graduate of the Certified Customs Specialist (CCS) and CIFFA Certificate courses), and is now adding new skills by taking on the handling of air export shipments.
“I feel I am well prepared to handle any shipment, but I am looking for new ways to meet and exceed a client’s expectations,” says Veena.
Veena works out of Universal’s Toronto Airport office and can be reached by phone at (905) 676-2763, extension 21 or by email.
|
