Engineered Stone Ban starts January 1st 2025

Start date From 1 January 2025, engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs will become prohibited imports under the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations 1956. Engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs that contain at least 1% crystalline silica substance as a weight/weight concentration and is created by

Import Ocean Rates from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Japan: It was great to see some rate relief at long last from above countries into Australia, some substantial rate reductions have been applied by shipping lines effective from 1st December, 2024. We are hopeful that trend will continue but as has been the

Montreal & Vancouver Port Dispute An ongoing dispute by port workers and terminal operators in Montreal and Vancouver has resulted in the union voting to reject substantial pay offer of more than 20% to be implemented over 6 years retrospective to early 2024. The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) noted that

New Direct Service announced to Fremantle: MSC Line have just introduced a new weekly service from Shanghai to Fremantle. These are the only load and discharge ports involved at present. Transit time is being quoted at 12 to 14 days on port to port basis, so in order to avoid the on-going delays in Singapore &hell

Breaking News: Further to our Newsflash on Wednesday this week advising of a strike at US ports, we have just received news form our USA agents that the port strike at East Coast and Gulf has been postponed. Port workers will return to work on Friday morning (US time) A new interim contract has been …

Strike in USA closes down ports: The ILA (International Longshoremen’s Association) and USMX ( US Maritime Alliance, representing employers at US East Coast and Gulf ports) have been negotiating a new contract for several months, talks reached a standstill late last week and the ILA threatened to strike from Tue

Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) have received advice from the Minister for Home Affairs the Hon Tony Burke MP and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Senator the Hon Murray Watt confirming the prohibition of the importation of engineered stone as of 1 January 2025. The 2024 Federal Budget provid

DP World (Melbourne) – IT System Issues Causing Ongoing Delays and Disruptions to Road Operations: Please see below the information provided by DP World Melbourne on Monday – regarding their IT system upgrade last Friday. At this stage todays delays are in excess of three hours (images below), these delays

China National Holidays: Just a reminder that China will shut down from 1st October until 7th October 2024 for Mid Autumn Festival and National Day public holidays, please ensure you ask all shippers to provide shipment documentation as soon as possible to avoid any delays and extra costs. Ocean Freight Rates: We

Bangladesh Unrest Supply chain chaos across Bangladesh, the world’s third-largest exporter of clothing, has created the longest berthing delays anywhere across the globe. Bangladeshi ports have been groaning under soaring traffic volumes in recent years, in line with the country’s emergence as a sign