See the information below for everything you should know about peak season and how to properly ship.
As businesses get ready for the holidays, capacity for air freight and ocean freight starts to become constrained, and prices start to rise.
Businesses start putting together their winter holiday plans in the second half of the year. Both import volumes and freight charge dramatically increase. High, unstable prices, rolling freight, shipping delays, and other disruptions are common during peak season.
In general, we can say that the "primary" peak season occurs from August and October up until the days leading up to Golden Week in the second half of the year.
Importers' efforts to raise their inventory in advance of the Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas holiday sales are to blame for this.
The lead-up to the Chinese New Year is another big peak period of the year, during which importers scramble to ship as many goods as they can before the factories close and manufacturing capacity is drastically curtailed.
We must, however, expect that no two years will be alike. The Transpacific Ocean Market is an ever-evolving, dynamic market. There is no guarantee that the peak seasons will be as extreme the following year as they were the one in question and vice versa. By regularly talking with your provider of logistics services, you may keep as current on the market as you can and make the necessary preparations.
What do importers need to know about shipping during the busiest time of year?
Plan in Advance
Airfreight: Make reservations 6-7 days before the Cargo Ready Date (CRD). Organize your ocean FCL shipping three to four weeks before the CRD.
LCL Shipping: Keep in mind that LCL shipments will take 7–10 extra days to reach their destination than FCL shipments. If at all feasible, avoid shipping 45' HC containers. These have a higher chance of being rolled.
Warehouses and ports will be incredibly crowded. At origin and destination, allow more time for loading and unloading.
Try to book 2-4 TEUs (1-2 x 40's) per bill of lading (B/L) rather than booking numerous containers on a single B/L. If we attempt to book too many containers (for example, 10 x 40'), the impact would be far bigger than if only one or two containers were booked under a single B/L.
Be Prepared to Pay More Fees
The cost of shipping goods by both air and water will generally increase.
Truckers who must wait in congested ports will be charged trucking wait costs. Chassis split fees may be incurred because of chassis shortages at some ports and rail ramps.
Be Adaptable
Choose a service with a longer journey time if possible. If you choose a transit time that is longer by a few days, your cargo is less likely to be rolled to the next week because the shortest transit-time services are more likely to be overbooked.
Be flexible regarding the port of discharge if your goods are moving inland. Although there may be a longer transit time as a result, this will give passengers more sailing options. Different US coastal ports can suffer from port congestion during high-demand seasons.
This typically results in scenarios such as but is not limited to, longer terminal dwell times and delays when loading IPI inland freight onto rail carriages.
Discharging at the POD and transloading should be taken into consideration as a viable method to save time.
Prepare for Golden Week Now (October 1-9)
Ocean shipments must be scheduled before Golden Week, especially if you are delivering to the East Coast, for them to arrive in time for the winter holidays.
Plan Your Amazon Deliveries
Please read our Amazon guide if this is your first time using Beeontrade to ship to Amazon.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday: If you're shipping to Amazon on November 23 for Black Friday or November 26 for Cyber Monday, your package must be there before the deadline.
Winter holidays: Amazon will also specify a deadline for holiday deliveries.
Before sailing, make sure your FBA shipments are organized and labeled.
Get Your Customs Affairs in Order
For new products that you have never shipped before, include HTS codes on the commercial invoice.
Ensure That CI Line Items are Accurate
Even if you won't be paid for any FOC (free of charge) things on CIs, give them a realistic value. Any line items having a value of zero will not be accepted by US Customs.