DC Velocity - March 2015

inbound

Transportation and logistics companies as well as groups like the American Logistics Aid Network (ALAN) have devoted significant time and resources to help fight the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. In a few cases, companies have even put their own “boots on the ground” in the region. One of those is Crowley Maritime Corp., which sent logistics specialists to Africa in support of the U.S. military’s Operation United Assistance. That initiative deployed more than 3,000 U.S. military personnel to build 17 Ebola treatment centers.

According to Crowley, the company has provided emergency shipping, warehousing, trucking, stevedoring, customs brokerage, and other logistics services to the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency and the U.S. Army in both Liberia and Senegal.

Since September, Crowley’s Bleu Hilburn, director, logistics, and colleagues Wally Gonzalez, manager, logistics, and Chris Goss, manager, Africa logistics, have been overseeing onsite operations. Among the team’s accomplishments: chartering the fast containership Vega to deliver supplies from Germany to Senegal and Liberia; establishing eight warehouses for the distribution of humanitarian aid and construction supplies; and trucking more than 4,000 loads of cargo to often-remote construction sites in Liberia. Work continues in both Liberia and Senegal.

Crowley says it took “extreme efforts” to protect its employees with personal protective gear, satellite tracking devices, health monitoring, and other measures in addition to establishing a stateside pandemic team.

It didn’t take long for the international trade community to mobilize after President Obama announced in mid-December that the U.S. would restore diplomatic relations with Cuba. It seemed like it was just a matter of days before we began receiving press releases about new consulting services and seminars on trade with that country.

How much the U.S. could export to or import from Cuba remains uncertain, but interest in this potential new market is high, and companies are anxious to get ahead of the curve. One example is the indefatigable entrepreneur Dan Gardner of Trade Facilitators Inc. (TFI). In a press release announcing the launch of his Cuba Trade Consulting practice in early February, Gardner said the service would focus on trade compliance for U.S. exporters, training Cuban businesses in international trade, and helping U.S. companies develop commercial relationships with Cuban entrepreneurs.

In mid-February, the international trade law firm of Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg P.A. (STR) hosted a live webinar titled “Cuba at the Crossroads: New Policies, Laws, and Potential Opportunities.” The online session addressed such topics as license requirements and processes for conducting business with Cuba, relevant changes in U.S. export control and Cuban Assets Control regulations, and legal ramifications of trade with Cuba. STR is offering an archived version of the program at www. strtrade.com/events-library.html.

All eyes on Cuba

Are you dealing with high rates of cargo loss and damage and wondering where to focus your prevention efforts? TT Club, a provider of insurance and related risk management services to the international transportation and logistics industry, can tell you what to watch for. The London-based mutual insurer has found that just five causes accounted for about 66 percent of the claims it handled over the past five years. The analysis was based on approximately 7,000 claims recorded between 2010 and 2014, with a total value of $425 million. Claimants included freight forwarders, third-party logistics companies, container shipping lines, intermodal operators, and ports and terminals.

According to the insurer, the five most frequent causes of insurance claims during that period were traffic accidents ( 23.0 percent); handling equipment collisions ( 13. 6 percent); theft ( 12. 9 percent); poor cargo packing ( 12. 6 percent); and fire ( 4. 4 percent).

Although importers and exporters were not included in the survey, they are not entirely off the hook. TT Club says that 65 percent of cargo damage can be attributed in part to poor or incorrect packing—an area where shippers, forwarders, and carriers all bear some responsibility.