Two years ago in June 2020 international sea freight costs started their slow climb to unprecedented levels. No importers with supply chains abroad were safe from ballooning costs. Shipping from any manufacturing hub was affected, China, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Turkey, and Mexico; the location just didn’t matter as long as goods needed to be loaded onto container ships and transported across the oceans. Now, in June 2022, sea freight costs have started falling. What can we … [Read more...]
How Did Sea Freight End Up In Such An Expensive Mess In 2021? [Podcast]
![How Did Sea Freight End Up In Such An Expensive Mess In 2021? [Podcast]](https://qualityinspection.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/HowDidSeaFreightEndUpInSuchAnExpensiveMessIn2021Podcast-1140x445.jpeg)
In this episode... Renaud is joined this week by global logistics expert Jon Monroe who boasts over 30 years in the logistics industry and has a strong focus on Transpacific trade. They discuss the current global sea freight crisis (in June/July 2021) that is hitting a lot of importers with both towering costs and delays and explore how we came to this point while dispelling certain misconceptions. Jon also gives some insight into the situation in the USA specifically, but touches on other … [Read more...]
Avoiding Mold on Imported Products Shipped in Ocean Containers
Several clients asked me recently about a way to avoid mold on imported products shipped from a Chinese, Vietnamese, or Indian factory. This is a serious problem. The reason is usually a combination of these 5 factors: The products are contaminated while in the factory, and/or The products are too wet when packed, and/or They are packed with wet packing materials, and/or There is a lot of air in the packaging and that air is very wet, and/or The air in the container is or … [Read more...]
Avoiding humidity inside containers
Last week, an importer was asking us how to avoid the formation of mold on the shoes they ship from China to Chile. The goods stay up to 50 days inside the container, so that was an extreme case. I suspect the materials are not treated against mold, in the first place. We suggested taking some samples randomly in the factory before production, and testing them in a laboratory. But that kind of test takes 3 weeks (which is sometimes longer than production)! Another way of avoiding this … [Read more...]