World Trade

A major survey of global logistics firms and goods producers by Customs Support Group has revealed three major hurdles impacting international trade.

March 23rd was a day everybody in supply chain and logistics will remember for a long time. The Ever Given, a 400-meter long container ship, ran aground in the Suez Canal. The Ever Given is a Gold-class container ship with a capacity of 20,000 containers. What caused the vessel to run aground is still under investigation, but the heavy winds were a factor for sure.

When goods are bought or sold “Free on Board” (FOB) it means that the seller delivers the goods to a ship at a port previously agreed to by the seller and the buyer. The seller loads the goods onto the ship. The buyer then takes care of the import formalities and transportation to the final destination. Free on Board is one of the oldest Incoterms. It dates back to when goods were carried by sailing ships and it was one of the terms when the Incoterms were first released in 1936. It is also one of the most used commercial terms.

The whole world is affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This means that the demand for medical supplies has been higher than ever before. At the same time, global supply chains are being hampered by restrictions in air freight and ocean freight capacity due to grounded planes and blanked sailings.