Your Broker Knows Blog

The experienced exporter was caught by surprise. Sometime ago, early in the middle of March, a large exporter of frozen food products in Quebec loaded a container with their product being exported to Australia.

The question you have been researching online is how to efficiently and effectively transport small ground shipments without breaking the bank. In your research, you've come across two terms: Full Truckload (FTL) and Less-Than-Truckload (LTL). But what is the difference? That's the emphasis of today's blog post; we will explain the various truckload shipping options, particularly less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping, along with the benefits and differences between LTL and FTL, in addition to the requirements for LTL shipping.

It's a typical spring day, sunny with a chance of a torrential downpour. You are driving your mini cooper across a familiar road, listening to your favorite tunes. Just as the chorus comes in, your speed seems to somehow pick up, then BAM! Your tiny car nearly gets swallowed whole by an enormous pothole. After you assess the damage to your tires, you may wonder, why do these potholes suddenly appear every time you are near? In this blog, we will explain how potholes come to be and how each year, a measure referred to as Spring Thaw is implemented to prevent them from damaging our roads and your tires in some climates. And since we're here and in the trade business, let's assess its significant impact on commercial transport.

China is known as the world's largest exporter of manufactured consumer products. Many commercial entrepreneurs import consumer products from China benefiting from lower prices. Global Affairs Canada reports that “China is Canada’s second most important bilateral commercial partner.” (Source) The US is number 1. If you are considering importing products from China, take the time to research the import and manufacturing process before you commit. Here are some considerations.

Amazon started as a small online book store that grew into the billion dollar business it is today. Although Amazon may be a unicorn when it comes to sales growth, every small online retailer hopes for just a sliver of that success when they build their business plans. If you are one of those entrepreneurs, one factor to keep in mind is scalability. You may be a small importer now, but what happens when your goods start selling in large quantities? Ensuring your supply chains and import processes are agile in terms of volume is imperative. In this blog we will share 4 tips on how to ensure optimal logistics scalability for your ecommerce business.

Whether you are a first time importer, or a well-seasoned company, the current shipping crisis has started a cascade effect in escalating costs. These extra fees are being absorbed throughout the supply chain, but the mode feeling the heaviest burden is Ocean Transportation. Traditionally, ocean transport and shipping lines are the most dependable, cost effective means of moving large quantities of goods throughout the world. The rise of economies in Asia has been built on manufacturing and delivering goods for an insatiable North American market. The shipping lines and supply chains already under strain due to volume and lack of infrastructure capable of handling the rising demand have started to buckle under the extra weight of a global pandemic (not to mention certain boats getting stuck in certain canals). This has caused stakeholders from steamship lines, logistics companies, and carriers to significantly raise rates and to create new auxiliary charges. The party responsible for those additional transport costs depends entirely on the Incoterm® that were decided upon at time of creating the purchase order.

With the holidays quickly approaching, it is not surprising to see surging demand driving up freight rates in ocean and air modes of transportation due to capacity constraints. This is now snowballing into all other modes with chassis shortages, and available warehouse space nowhere to be found. Many shippers and freight managers are getting inventive with shipping lanes, temporarily importing goods into Canada or the US where they have secured vessel capacity, or switching modes to get their hands on whatever space they can find, no matter the cost. With giant buyers such as HomeDepot and Walmart buying out entire vessels just to get their store shelves filled, what’s a smaller shipper to do? In this blog, we will look at some insider tips and recommendations on how to navigate this shipping crisis.

It is hard to believe that if the global container crisis wasn’t enough to contend with, now buyers are being laden with skyrocketing air freight rates due to the unprecedented demand and limited supply. In the last week alone, rates have jumped 10%, with higher percentages expected on lanes originating from China and Europe.

Today business and trade is a global affair. The competitive field has expanded and more and more companies seek out business relationships that will give them an edge over their competitors. Supply chain relationships can make or break your business.

It’s not a worldwide container shortage that is causing ocean rates to increase. It’s the uneven distribution of containers. There are enough containers, just not in the places where they are needed.