Not only are their increases putting businesses out of business, but the impact on the global economy is now having devastating effects. Shortages of product, untenable delays, unrealistic price increases. There is only ONE benefactor here and that is the shipping lines. 

The real frustration for us and the industry is that not one of the shipping lines seem to be trying to address this, whilst every other industry involved with supply chain suffers, month-on-month increases, further space issues and no light at the end of the tunnel, how much more can the industries in and around supply chain take and how long can our clients and importers survive with the continuous delays and rate increases?

We all watch the news about truck driver shortages and this is also having a negative effect and causing long delays on deliveries, but no one is actually mentioning the ever-increasing rates to the extent that the rises have been? This bemuses us, as this is having the worse effect on so many businesses, on inflation, redundancies, peoples lives etc. But all that we hear is that it is, “due to delays in China”. Yes, this is a contributing factor, but no one is reporting on why the shipping lines are not doing anything about it. Why are they not sending empty vessels to rebalance the equipment problem, why are shipping lines making void sailings. Take a look at any of the share prices of publicly owned shipping lines and see their share prices, most have trebled in the last 12 months. 

How long do the shipping lines want to keep the rates at an ALL-TIME high? It would only take one shipping line with a moral compass to start dropping rates and the rest will have to follow. We do not think anyone is expecting rates to ever return to the rates of 12 months ago, but surely it is sensible to return to a rate that will not cripple companies, the everyday family and global economies. So the question for us is WHY ARE GOVERNMENTS NOT INTERVENING, WHEN WILL THEY SEE THE TRUE IMPACT OF THESE UNREALISTIC COSTS?

It comes with a heavy heart that we have to report such bad news every month about an industry we are so passionate about, one that I have been in personally for 37 years since leaving school. 

I am so proud of our team at JAG UFS who are continually finding solutions to these problems and doing our best to circumnavigate these issues for our valued clients, who I would also like to thank for their continued support. 

As always, we are on hand to discuss any requirements you may have and to always think outside of the box to find solutions and keep costs to a minimum. 

Please contact your local office for further information. 

Gary Wilcox
CEO – JAG UFS Group