Importers are set to pay the price for shipping bottlenecks over Christmas.
According to customs clearance agency Platinum Freight Management, shipping and handling over the holiday season could be fraught with set-backs and added costs.
Customs has reached rock bottom on duty reductions, meaning that for the first time in recent history, importers can’t expect a reduction in duty fees.
Platinum Freight CEO Peter McRae warned importers to anticipate setbacks and know where the added costs might be:
“The two most commonly experienced freighting and Customs clearance issues facing importers during this critical trading period are: potential holiday strike action by stevedores, and lack of logistics planning that sees stock uncleared over public holidays.”
In addition, where importers have in previous years enjoyed a reduction in duty rates for the new year, this year "they can think again".
“The duty rate has bottomed out at 5% and no more reductions will be applied, so importers need to ensure their budget is set accordingly.”
With these issues on the horizon, McRae said now is the time to make changes to orders and shipping plans.
The cost of strike action goes beyond the risk of getting stock on shelves too late, but also high wharf storage costs plus container rental fees from their shipping company for every day that the container remains un-emptied.
While striking is an unknown variable, the best course of avoidance is to book shipments early.
“Negotiate shipping times with suppliers now to get stock landed before strike action inevitably heats up. The smart importer aims to have stock in transit to warehouse by the first week of December,” McRae advised.
One equally common setback importers often face is poor planning and lack of a tight logistics schedule addressing public holidays.
“Businesses should factor in public holidays in their logistics schedule, to land goods before holidays begin. Of course this isn’t always possible for stock replenished frequently over Christmas trade. So for importers this applies to, they know to factor in budget to cover holding fees for days stock is unattended due to dock and Customs worker holiday days.”
An effective safeguard against delays of this nature is to pre-clear goods before they reach Australia, which ensures little delay through Customs and the opportunity to plan efficient transport options once stock is confirmed landed.
The most at-risk importers for delays in processing over Christmas are first-time importers.
These businesses can expect additional checks on shipments which can set back clearance as much as three to five days.
This is unavoidable, so new importers are advised to work forward.
McRae’s advice to all importers in the lead up to December is simple:
"Be organised. Be prepared and plan your imports down to a T. Where possible, ship early, pre-clear goods and factor in an additional budget just in case your goods are caught up in a Christmas bottleneck."