Freight Updates

Tariff developments.  The EU announced that they were implementing the $4BN of tariffs, sanctioned on the US by the WTO this week. Effective November 10th, 2020 the EU will apply a 25% tariff on American shipments of rum, brandy, vodka and vermouth. The EU press release may be found here and the full list of affected products may be found here.  In addition, with the pending new administration change, the WSJ published an article saying that the Biden administration is expected to review all current US trade tariffs. The full article is here.  Decanter also weighs in on the possibility of Tariff cuts.

Reefer Availability – France/Spain  Reefer availability continues to be an issue. For the West Coast, we are now experiencing a 2+ week delay in reefer shipments.  For the East Coast, delays are approximately 2 weeks.  As an alternative, we would suggest you consider insulated containers for East Coast shipments.  In the case of LCL shipments, this will not only result in quicker shipment, but the cost per case of an insulated shipment will be reduced by $0.75.  We will be reaching out to our customers, who currently have East Coast shipments booked, to see if you would like to change from Reefer to insulated containers. As of this week, we are now experiencing 3 – 4 day delays for release of containers from East and West Coast ports.

Oceania to USA – continued fallout from labor action at Sydney port terminals has impacted the container flows for Australia and New Zealand shipments.  Ocean carriers applied congestion charges in October for export cargo as well.

DC Liquor stores sell record quantities of Champagne following the Election. Multiple liquor stores across the nation’s capital claim that they sold more champagne in the 12 hours of celebrations following Biden’s projected win than they did in any previous holiday.  The full article may be found here.

Port Congestion Since late summer the inbound container activity in southern California and the Northeast are showing the complete volume reversal that was the reality of the first half.  Container-equipment lessor, Triton International reports demand as “exceptionally strong.”  Triton is forecasting strong container demand through at least the early part of 2021.  The full article may be found here.

News:

• The Court of Masters America begins suspending members accused of sexual harassment, read Wine Searcher’s article here.

• Wine Paris postponed until June 2021,  and Vinexpo Bordeaux until June 2022.  Click here for details.

• Prowein’s plans to lengthen their fair and make changes to the layout and tasting here.

• Preserving the heritage of wine bars; Barcelona is doing this for 11 historic locations so far, read the story here.

• Sparkling Wine Sales Stay Strong Through Pandemic. Scan data from Nielsen off-premise outlets show domestic sparkling wine sales in the 52 weeks ended Sept. 5 exceeding $789 million, up nearly 12% from a year ago.  More detail may be found here.