All about the Fumigation Certificate

A fumigation certificate, frequently referred to as a pest-control certificate, is a document used to confirm that all wooden packing materials in a cargo shipment have been fumigated.

Materials that require sterilization or fumigation before international shipping are raw wood items such as wood pallets or crates, wool, dunnages, and drums. However, wood-derived products like cardboards, particleboard (chipboard), and other man-made materials are exempt.

A fumigation certificate is compulsory when shipping international or ocean freight cargo. Failure to comply with these measures risks your cargo not being sent, liquidated, or quarantined upon arrival in other ports.

Why is the Fumigation Certificate Required?

International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM 15) were introduced in 2002 to standardize wooden packaging phytosanitary measures. Previously, global trade was impeded by a complex range of restrictions required by different authorities. ISPM 15 measures set out a standard required for all exporters that aim to halt the spread of vermin by treating all wooden packaging.

These measures were enforced because insects and fungi residing in the shipping timber of wood, can spread out into forests and wetlands, causing devastation to trees and plants. With millions of wood paletts being shipped internationally per day to facilitate the import and export of goods, this poses a considerable problem for the conservation of wildlands.

When is a Fumigation Certificate Required

International trading partners are adopting ISPM15 into their import regulations. The National Plant Protection Organization of the United States (NPPO) and the United States Department of Agriculture have worked with the wood packaging material industry to develop an export program that meets global import requirements.

This program works to ensure wood packaging materials for international trade are certified when treated. A key aspect of compliance within this program ensures materials are traceable to their origin.

Details required for the fumigation certificate

The details required on a fumigation certificate are information about what the purpose of the fumigation treatment was and a list of the fumigants used. Additionally, the amount of time these fumigants were used and the temperature range during fumigation must be detailed.

The ISPM 15 recognizes four different approaches to eliminating the possible problems caused by insects and contaminants contained in shipping wood.

Heat Treatment

Heat Treatment (HT) requires wood to be heated until its core reaches 56 degrees Celcius for a minimum of 30 minutes. Timber packaging or wood is placed into a specialist kiln or industrial microwave, making it uninhabitable to insect life. Pallets treated with HT carry an HT stamp.

Kiln Drying

Kiln drying is similar to (HT), but it also reduces the moisture content in the wood. Pallets are placed inside large heating chambers or kilns and heated slowly in a process that evaporates excess moisture. Because the purpose of Kiln Drying is to reduce moisture and not specifically pest eradication, appropriate IPSM 15 moisture standards must be heeded and documented. Kiln-dried treated wood also comes with an HT stamp.

Methyl Bromide

Methyl Bromide (MB) is the lengthiest process that is considered acceptable for IPSM 15. MB, commonly known as bromomethane, is a colorless, odorless gas that was traditionally used as a pesticide and fumigant in agriculture. It is slowly being phased out of general use due to its toxicity, but it is suitable for treating wood in a controlled environment.

Typically it is applied with either container fumigation, where the entire container that contains the wood is filled with MB and quarantined for 24hrs, then aerated and released. Another method approved for IPSM 15 involves isolating the wooden cargo and covering it with a special tent made airtight with weights. Then MB is pumped into the tent, left for the regulation 24hrs before the cargo is again aerated and released.

Wood palettes treated with methyl bromide carry an MB stamp.

Dielectric Heat Treatment

Dielectric Heat Treatment uses a high-frequency alternating electric field, radio wave, or microwave electromagnetic radiation to heat the entire wood profile to a minimum of 60 degrees Celsius, within 30 minutes of the process’s start. Manufacturers of these pallets must seek the approval of the NPPO. Suggestions inside the industry are that this treatment process will become more commonplace due to its speed and operational benefits.

Shipping to Australia or New Zealand

Shipping to Australia or New Zealand requires additional consideration. The rapid rise of brown marmorated stinks bugs (BMSB) throughout North American and Europe has lead the Australasian authorities to make moves to protect their ecological balance from insects carried by imports from certain countries, including the USA and Europe.

Guides relating to the BMSB high-risk seasons cover Sept 1st-May 31st for Australia and Sept 1st-April 30 for New Zealand.

Responsibility is thrust onto the customer sending the cargo, and goods must be categorized as either Target Risk Cargos or Target High Risk Cargos for arrival.

Risk Cargos include break-bulk like vehicles, machinery, and equipment, plus bricks, tiles, and stone. With High Risk Cargos being designated as chemicals, minerals, fertilizers and also wood pulp, printed materials, cardboard, paper and plastics, and so forth.

Carrying any of these goods — or shipping, berthing, or using as an intermediate any of the countries on the list classified as high risk — means that cargo falls under the BSMB regulations. These are set as minimum treatment of either HT, MB, or Sulfuryl Fluoride fumigations.

What is Mother Vessel and Feeder Vessel

There are many terms used in the shipping industry that we don’t completely understand. For example, one of the shipping terms we hear a lot are “feeder vessel” and “mother vessel“. These terms refer to two types of shipping vessels that are part of vessel-carrying networks.

Feeder Vessel-  

Basically, feeder vessels ferry cargo from smaller ports to larger ports for export and from large main ports to smaller ports for import.  

Feeder vessels are normally smaller than mother vessels and serve between small ports and major ports. Feeder vessels are also slower than mother vessels. 

A feeder vessel typically has a capacity of 300 to 500 TEUs (20′ containers). Feeder vessels generally serve short distances, either between smaller ports or between smaller ports and major ports. 

Mother Vessel- 

As compared to feeder vessels, mother vessels are bigger. Mother vessels only sail between the major big ports. Mother vessels are capable of carrying thousands of containers. Mother vessels only cruise the main ports. In comparison to the feeder vessel, the mother vessel covers a greater distance. 

A Mother Vessel has an average capacity of 10000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equipment Units). In 1960s, a vessel could only carry 500 – 800 TEUs. Today, vessels with a capacity of 20000 TEUs are available.

Inventory Control in Supply Chain Management

What is Inventory and how do manage it? 

Inventory is a quantity of goods owned and stored by a business that is intended either for resale or as raw materials and components used in producing goods that the business sells. Generally, inventory types can be grouped into four classifications: raw material, work-in-process, finished goods, and MRO (Maintenance, repair and operation supplies) goods. Inventory represents one of the most important assets for a company because its turnover represents revenue for the company. There are 4 main basic functions that inventory serves in a business such as meet the anticipated demand for the products, safeguard against stock-outs, and facilitate production requirements and segment operations. 

Types of Inventory 

Raw Material

 A raw material, also known as a feedstock, unprocessed material, or primary commodity, is a basic material that is used to produce goods, finished products, energy, or intermediate materials that are feedstock for future finished products. In a simple sentence it is the basic material from which a product is made. In order to produce any finished products it requires raw materials, which are then processed and made into finished goods. It is important to maintain raw materials inventory in the proper quantity and at the right place to avoid any mishaps since the finished products that we sell are made from these materials. 

Work in process 

Work in process represents partially completed goods. These goods are also referred to as goods-in-process. For some, work in process refers to products that move from raw materials to finished product in a short period. Work in process is usually measured at the end of an accounting period to most accurately value how many incomplete goods are still sitting within the production process. Once the goods are finished, the cost is transferred to the finished goods account, then eventually to the cost of goods sold. 

Finished Goods

 Finished goods are products that have gone through all manufacturing processes, but have not yet sold. A good of this kind can serve as a piece of inventory for a store or sit in storage in a warehouse. These goods do not make money for a business until they are purchased, though they do count as assets. Examples of finished goods include clothing, processed food, and appliances. Something like an orange is not considered finished, though it is sold and shipped. 

MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operation) 

MRO inventory stands for maintenance, repair, and operation inventory. The MRO inventory meaning is all the consumable materials, supplies, and equipment needed for manufacturing that aren’t a part of ending finished goods inventory. MRO includes spare parts, lubricants, tools, safety gear, and other consumables that do not make it into the final product (or service). 

What is Inventory Management? 

Inventory management refers to the practices and processes used to control inventory holding levels, minimize costs and bottlenecks and manage current and future stock requirements. It is used to manage required service levels for internal and external customers and inventory visibility in supply chains. In other words, Inventory management refers to the process by which you track the amount of product you have on your warehouse shelf, in store or sitting with other retailers and distributors. This enables you to succeed in having the right number of units in the right place, at the right time and for the right price. When effectively tracking and controlling your physical inventory, you’ll know how many of each item you have, when you might be running low on products and whether you should replenish that item in order to keep selling it. Organizations from small to large businesses can make use of inventory management to track their flow of goods. There are numerous inventory management techniques, and using the right one can lead to providing the correct goods at the correct amount, place and time. 

Good Inventory Management optimizes the supply chain and increases reliability, effectively minimizes the chances of lost sales, costs can be reduced as well. In order to meet good inventory control many companies now turn to software to help them control several aspects of inventory management. Some eCommerce tools and standard warehouse management systems (WMS) come with inventory control and order support as their core functionality. One significant benefit of inventory management practices is that they help you understand how and when to reorder your products and supplies. They can make it easy to avoid stock outs, which not only cost you but can also disrupt your supply chain, keeping your operations running smoothly and efficiently.

WMS( Warehouse Management System)

 A warehouse management system (WMS) is software that is designed and built to optimize the warehouse, distribution, supply chain, and fulfillment processes within a business. Sophisticated warehouse management systems are also designed to integrate with a wide range of internal and external software systems, including Enterprise Resource Planning Systems, Supply Chain Management Systems, Inventory Management Systems, Transportation Management Systems, Barcode Scanning Systems, and Ecommerce platforms. 

Features of WMS 

Barcode and RFID scanners compatibility

Providing real-time data streaming

Inventory location recommendations

Picking and packing options

Product tracking

Warehouse layout planning

Kitting, Creating reports

Billing and invoicing

Integration with ERP and other software

Customization opportunities

On-Cloud basis, etc.  

Rail Freight, a brief introduction

 Rail Freight, a brief introduction.

What is rail logistics?

Rail freight transport is the usage of railroads and trains to transport cargo on land. It can be used for transporting various kinds of goods all, or some of the way between the shipper and the intended destination. A few examples of cargo that rails transport are Agriculture, automotive, chemicals, raw construction material, energy (coal, oil, wind turbines), forest productions. Since railcar transportation is often cheaper and more eco-friendly than over-the-road (OTR) shipping, it is worth considering this mode. Rail is a great solution for pre-planned long-hauls, and moving from OTR to rail could benefit your supply chain in several ways. 

Freight trains can haul bulk cargo, standardized shipping containers, or specially designed cars for a specific type of freight. There is a 1.1 million km line of railroads worldwide. America takes the biggest share out of this – 32%. Then comes Asia with 30%, Europe – 24%.The statistics from last year show that rail freight traffic has a growing tendency worldwide, with an exception of Africa.

Rail freight is much faster than ocean freight. It is more expensive than sea freight but cheaper than air freight. Moving goods by train is perfect for high-value industrial products such as vehicles, electronics, and computer equipment, as well as promotional equipment that must reach their final destination as quickly as possible.

The global rail freight market is expected to grow from $247.39 billion in 2020 to $271.87 billion in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.9%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $351 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 7%.

Common Types of Rail Cars for Freight Shipping

BOXCARS

Common boxcar freight includes:

Consumer packaged goods

Auto parts

Paper reams

Canned goods

Bagged products

HOPPER CARS

Common hopper freight includes:

Coal

Ore

Salt

Sand

Grain & wheat

Corn

Sugar

Fertilizer

FLATCARS

Common flatcar freight includes:

Long poles & pipes

Logs & cut lumber

Steel plates & beams

Wind turbines

Oversized machinery & equipment

Intermodal containers

TANK CARS

Common tank car freight includes:

Oil

Water

Chemicals

Petroleum-based products

Liquid hydrogen

GONDOLAS

Common tank car freight includes:

Scrap metal

Steel plates & coils

Rail track & ties

Gravel

Construction debris

Miscellaneous waste

COIL CARS

Steel coils

Copper coils

Plastic tubing

REFRIGERATOR CARS

Frozen meat & fish

Fresh produce

Milk

Beer

Ice

SPECIALTY CARS

Automotive vehicles

Ballast

Aggregate

Miscellaneous items

ICD and Rail Freight

Dutch firm markets ‘one-way’ containers

 

The one-way containers are complementary to carriers’ own equipment – specifically that share of their containers that won’t be filled with return cargo.

Some 20m ocean containers move across the planet, carrying freight to every corner of the globe. After being unloaded at their destination port, 40% of the containers continue over land, while 20% are returned empty by sea.

The Rotterdam firm K-tainer has come up with a new sustainable alternative to this procedure: one-way containers.

The new and used containers offered by K-tainer Trading and K-tainer Leasing come with a unique arrangement that reduces carbon emissions and completely refunds these savings to the user transporting the container as there is a third party in K-tainer’s concept, between the buyer and the seller, namely the carrier. Container shipping lines, exporters and road haulage firms have up to 30 days to use the containers free of charge, and can leave them with the buyer after unloading.

A diverse range of clients are already taking advantage of this option. The main draw for users is that the carbon savings refund enables them to increase the sustainability of their logistics service.

The one-way containers are complementary to carriers’ own equipment – specifically that share of their containers that won’t be filled with return cargo.

“Imagine a shipping company sends 10 containers per week to Ireland, but only has enough freight to fill six containers on the return voyage. In this situation, the shipping company can benefit from henceforth using four of our one-way containers on its Ireland route, and leaving them there,” explained K-Tainer director Walter Ferreira.

K-tainer has been rewarded for this novel concept with a Lean & Green star, an international award recognising logistics companies that have truly explored every angle to reduce the sector’s carbon emissions.

“We have a new fleet of containers built in China, but of course, we don’t ship those empty either: we get a party to fill them with cargo,” said Ferreira.

Source : Splash

#reefercontainerknowledge #shippingcontainer #shippingnews #logistics

Container Demand, A Boost For Indian Makers

 

An acute shortage of marine containers since October 2020 due to a global equipment imbalance has severely affected Indian trade. However, it has also come as a blessing in disguise for it has led to an awakening — both in the government and in the trade — on the need for India to aggressively restart container manufacturing locally and be less dependent on China, which has a monopoly with over 90 per cent market share globally.

Local container manufacturing is also critical for the success of Centre’s AatmaNirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) programme.

Container manufacturing is not new to India. As containerisation started to flourish two decades ago, Indian companies manufactured them locally. However, the momentum fizzled out as Chinese companies gained dominance due to cheap labour, availability of abundant raw material and the ability to scale quickly — all of which were largely missing in India.

But action is now being taken — albeit a bit late — to revive local container manufacturing. Earlier this month, Container Corporation of India (Concor) placed orders for 1,000 containers each from Braithwaite & Company Ltd and Public Sector undertaking BHEL. Concor, which earlier always sourced containers from China, discovered that locally made containers were cheaper by about 25 per cent. Each container costs about ₹2.5 lakh. It is looking to source more from within India.

There are reports that Gujarat government is exploring a plan to make Bhavnagar a hub for container manufacturing.

Bijoy Paulose, Managing Director of the Chennai-based VS&B Containers, said the company annually procures around 4,000 boxes, and all from China. India once had container manufacturers such as Balmer Lawrie (Chennai and Kochi); DCM Hyundai (Chennai); Nathaniel and Transfreight (Mumbai) and HIM Containers (Kolkata). However, these companies all shut down 10-20 years ago. Only DCM is doing local containers in Delhi, he added.

China has a monopoly and can quickly undercut the prices and squeeze the Indian initiative unless the government looks at serious intervention to prevent dumping. There is an annual demand for nearly 4,000 boxes in India. India now has raw materials such as Corten steel needed for the manufacture of these containers. However, 25 years ago even screws were imported, he added.

In the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, local production will benefit the domestic trade during any future disruption, said Sai Krishna, Assistant Vice President, ICRA Ltd, an investment information and credit rating agency. However, matching China on the costs will be a challenge for Indian container manufacturers, he added.

The government can help by providing exemptions for manufacturers on key inputs such as steel or steel scrap. The key to success will be to build scale, else on the cost front the initiative might not take off, he said.

According to Sunil Vaswani, Executive Director, Container Shipping Lines Association (India), the limited access to available containers is driving up the buying price of new containers since manufacturers charge a premium due to the high demand.

A relaxation of 40.8 per cent import duty after 18 per cent GST on Corten steel and/or suspension of iron ore exports will help Indian container manufacturers. Favourable policy framework, cost/price competitiveness and quality will boost the business. This would not only help India become self-reliant in the sector but also give the world another option — which would help during the peak demand months of the year — for sourcing of containers, so far largely restricted to China.
Source: The Hindu Business Line

#maersk #container #shipping #reefer #teu #madeinindia #

India looks to enter container manufacturing

 

India is looking to enter the container manufacturing sector in a big way as the country aims to boost its exports.

Container manufacturing is expected to be part of India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat programme, which is a vision for India envisaged by prime minister Narendra Modi to make India a self-reliant nation. Under the program, five pillars were outlined – economy, infrastructure, system, vibrant demography and demand.

The country’s decision comes at a time when there is a major container shortage on major liner routes resulting in substantial freight rate hikes. The shortage of containers has also been causing delays in shipment of India’s major export goods including rice.

“We need to address the issue of containers at the earliest especially as we focus on boosting exports on one hand and reducing imports on the other,” Ajay Sahai, director general, Federation of Indian Export Organisation told India Narrative.

India’s Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has already set up a committee to study the feasibility of manufacturing containers at Bhavnagar in Gujarat.

Currently China is the largest container manufacturing country in the world with a market share of more than 95%.

Commenting on the news, Andy Lane from Singapore-based CTI Consultancy told Splash: “Currently there is some demand for additional production. Longer term the global container fleet will remain at around 1.6 times the liner ship capacity, and India will need to compete with China here. China has an additional advantage that the containers roll out of the factory straight for export stuffing.”

Source - Splash

#containers #asis #india #manufacturing #china #atamnirbhar #madeinindia