We are pleased to inform you that the labor strike in Los Angeles / Long Beach has ended. Work is resuming at all terminals. It is expected that there will be significant delays to clear the backlog of vessels and containers.

AQIS have advised industry that all future Fumigation Certificates from countries who are not recognised under the Australian Accreditation Fumigation Scheme (Non-AFAS Countries) will now require a Plastic Wrapping declaration on the fumigation certificate, the list of Non-AFAS Countries can be provided on request and does include countries such as Brazil, China, Singapore, USA, Pakistan, Taiwan & Turkey. If an acceptable plastic wrapping declaration is not present on the fumigation certificate AQIS will direct the goods for an unpack inspect & re fumigation if required, AQIS will also be carrying out random inspections to confirm adherence.

It would not be getting close to Xmas without the shipping companies announcing a GRI. 

We have been notified by the Shipping Lines that they have introduced a GRI from the 15^th October 2012 ex all South East Asian ports to Australia.  The GRI announced is USD200 – US$250 per container, if you have any freight requirements from the below origins, please forward your rate request to info@ical.com.au. 

This will also effect LCL shipments with the GRI adding an additional USD10 per cubic metre to all LCL rates ex South East Asia, effective the 30^th October 2012 on the following trade lanes:

Origin: All ports ex Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand & Vietnam

Destination:  Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Fremantle

Please contact us with any questions or concerns.  We appreciate your business and will endeavour to pass on any rate reductions to you when & if these come into being.  

AQIS in their wisdom have decided to amend the Packing Declaration requirements for all future sea freight shipments re timber packaging material. The underlying push from AQIS would seem to be for all future wooden packaging material to be ISPM15 marked & compliant when imported.  Please also remember Plywood & Veneer packaging material is not considered to be a product of wood when used for packaging purposes. 

The new Packing Declaration format is available on our web site at the following link https://www.ical.com.au/uploads/documents/Packing-Declaration.doc or email your request through to info @ ical.com.au & we will email you the Word document format.  AQIS have advised the old format will still be acceptable but strongly recommends the use of the new format as soon as feasible. 

You may now be shaking your head in disbelief at this change but this is the environment we have to work in & the bureaucracy we have to conform too.  

Effective in August / September major shipping lines have advised that they will be reducing the free container detention time down to 7 calander days.

This means that from the first day of availablity importers will have only seven days to have their container collected from the wharf, unpacked and returned to the designated empty container park before detention will begin.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Dan Wilkinson as our Business Development Manager in our Newcastle Branch. Most recently, Dan has been working in the pharmaceutical industry in an export market development role and offers us a wealth of experience and local knowledge & networking experience within the Sydney & Newcastle areas.

We welcome Dan to the ICAL team and wish him all the best as he works closely with all business units to develop the ICAL brand.

The Port of Melbourne will apply increased wharfage charges on all Shipping lines in response to the $75 Million PORT LICENCE FEE as passed into Law by the Victorian State Government on February 28th 2012.

 Effective July 1^st 2012, ICAL is forced to introduce a Port Licence Fee for Melbourne containers.

 The surcharge level will be :

AUD 35/20’ dry/reefer container

AUD 70/40’ dry/reefer container

AUD 5.00 per w/m LCL cargo

 This charge will apply uniformly on all cargo loading, discharging or being transhipped in Melbourne.

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact your ICAL representative.

Due to an increase in charges from the airlines cargo terminal operators around Australia as of July 1^st, airline import terminal fees will raise by A$0.05 per kg and the Airline Document fee will rise by A$4.00 per shipment.

For a full list of our local airfreight charges please email by return to nicholas @ ical.com.au

Incoterms® 2010 rules came into force on 1st January 2011.

The delivery terms DAF, DES, DEQ and DDU will be replaced by new delivery terms DAP and DAT.

If you require assistance in how this will affect your business please contact ICAL on 03 9335 2566.

The Victorian Government announced that it will proceed with a A$1.2B redevelopment of Melbourne’s container facilities to provide short- and medium-term coverage for trade growth ahead of a completely new box port at Hastings, which is expected to take 15 years to complete.

The centrepiece of the announcement is the conversion of Webb Dock, at the mouth of the River Yarra, into Melbourne’s third international container terminal, most likely to be operated by Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH), which already has new terminals underway in Brisbane and Sydney/Port Botany.