IHSA Shippers Association

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Mounting Losses Persist for Container Lines

Carrier profitability, or lack of profitability, is causing uncertainty with shippers heading into the busiest shipping period of the year. After reaching historical lows, container rates from Asia to United States have stabilized. Although stabilized, the rates have not rebounded to profitable levels. Hanjin and Hyundai are two carriers that have been fighting off bad…

Asia to U.S.A. – Spot Rates Increase

The International Housewares Shippers Association (IHSA) has been closely monitoring freight rates in the Asia to United States market. The carriers have made eight attempts to increase freight rates in this market since May 2015. Every attempt failed until July 2016. The biggest obstacle to the previous attempted increases was simple economics. The amount of capacity in the…

Ocean Freight Update: Ocean Carriers’ Action Indicates Weak Demand

Ocean carriers are entering their busiest shipping phase known as peak season to those familiar with the container shipping industry. It is traditional for ocean carriers to impose a “Peak Season Surcharge” (PSS) on containers shipped from Asia to the United States during this peak period. The PSS is a good tool for shippers to gauge how carriers view future demand in the…

Is Your Company Prepared for SOLAS?

If your company ships ocean containers, you need to prepared for SOLAS. Effective July 1, 2016, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will be enforcing a new regulation in the Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS). This new regulation mandates that shippers provide a Verified Gross Mass (VGM) for every container as a condition for loading onto a ship for export. VGM…

IHSA Finalizes Ocean Contract Negotiations

After two months of negotiating with ocean carriers, the International Housewares Shippers Association (IHSA) is pleased to report that contract negotiations have been finalized. IHSA’s 2016-17 ocean carrier program offers rates and services with 11 different ocean carriers capable of providing service to and from every major trade lane in the world. The contract rates are…

International Housewares Shippers Association Issues Refund to Members

The International Housewares Shippers Association (IHSA) issued a refund to participants for 2015 totaling $186,139. The refund, which has become a staple of IHSA, is awarded by the IHSA Board of Directors at the conclusion of the association’s fiscal year. Each participant’s share depends on their level of participation and is based on every 40-foot equivalent unit (FEU)…

Carriers Will Decide Stability of Shipping Market

Author: Jeff Bergmann, International Housewares Shippers Association (IHSA) On June 4th, I wrote a blog titled “Container Space and Equipment Challenges Persist in Asia”. Almost four months have passed and many of the same challenges persist within the Asia - United States market. No doubt, the chaos experienced by shippers during the months of May, June, and July has…

Container Space and Equipment Challenges Persist in Asia

Author: Jeff Bergman, International Housewares Shippers Association (IHSA) A recent headline on the Journal of Commerce website that read "Carriers Restoring Capacity Faster Than Demand" had many importers scratching their heads. Any person responsible for moving cargo from Asia to the United States understands that nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, demand is…