U.S. shippers urged to book far in advance with liner carriers

U.S. shippers struggling to find containers and sufficient capacity on ships for their exports are urged by liner carriers to consider booking their shipments as far in advance as possible.

George Hearn, vice president and managing director in the U.S. South for APL, told attendees at the Virginia Maritime Association's International Trade Symposium in Norfolk on Thursday that within the current U.S. economic environment liner carriers expect to see some shippers make export container bookings eight to 12 weeks out.

But limited internal forecasting capabilities may prevent most shippers from comfortably booking that far out. 

Most carriers know we're going to give them the same amount of containers each month, said David Pope, North American region logistics manager for chemical firm Rohm and Haas. But booking our cargo 11 to 12 weeks out would be tough.

Thomas Keene, vice president of BDP Transport, the non-vessel-operating common carrier arm of freight forwarder BDP International, said most shippers are only able to book their export shipments four to six weeks out at most. He noted that there's a sense of panic in the marketplace because making advance bookings doesn't mean the equipment will be available where and when it's needed.

Another NVO executive attending the VMA conference told Shippers' NewsWire on the side that a carrier this week outright canceled its booking of 30 export containers. 

Hearn acknowledged, there's no easy answers to the export dilemma in the U.S. liner trades. He recommended that in addition to considering advance bookings, shippers should:

   Seek multiple carriers to spread the risk.

   Look at long-term needs and plan ahead, even beyond the peak season.

   Attempt to level out peaks and valleys in cargo flows.

   Work closely with their carriers.

   Pope agreed that exporters should work closely with their carriers. It's a two-way street, he said.

Source: American Shipper