Fic Logistics

If you are uncertain about whether LCL or FCL shipments are more suitable for your business, here is a review of definitions and procedures for both shipping methods, to help you determine the right decision. LET’S START WITH FULL CONTAINER LOAD (FCL.) Just like it sounds, FCL is a type of ocean freight, and refers to Full Container Load, which means that you are the only user of the container, and do not need to fill the entire container. NEXT IS LESS CONTAINER LOAD (LCL.) The LCL type of ocean freight are shipments priced based on the volume of cargo. These are smaller volume cargoes, which belong to several shippers, combined and tacked inside a single container. The important point with LCL is to plan wisely, and maximize available space if you are considering the LCL option. WHEN AND WHY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER FCL? If you have regular shipments, and are planning to transport more than 15 cubic meters, FCL would be the most economical type of ocean freight. Filling a fu...

The world is in a place where globalization has taken center stage, and the interactions and business dealings between the countries and organizations is at an all-time high. The import and export businesses are two of the most important, and crucial, businesses in the era of globalization. Therefore, it is important for first-time importers to be aware about current market situations, legal matters, financial details, and the political environment in various countries where businesses plan to conduct their operations. The e-commerce business has catalyzed the import and export businesses, and people buy and sell goods online, through different websites and vendors, with an intent of keep costs at a minimum possible level. THE FIRST THING THAT FIRST TIME IMPORTERS MUST BE AWARE OF IS KNOWLEDGE 0F THE MARKET. An importer must not invest in markets where he or she is not completely aware of their inner workings. In cases of high product demand, the importer must purchase a suff...

Hailed as the vane of the development trend of the international maritime industry, this year's most influential and large scale global maritime industry, "China International Marine Convention 2017" opened its doors at Shanghai New International Expo Center on the morning of the 5th. As the future development trend of the shipbuilding industry and shipping industry, smart ships and smart shipping have become the highlight of each of the exhibitors at this year's exhibition. CSSC delivered the first smart ship in China on the opening day of the exhibition and initiated the establishment of a smart ship innovation alliance. China Classification Society held smart ship unmanned vessel related seminar at this exhibition; COSCO SHIPPING will hold smart shipping launching ceremony; and Rawls Royce brought the world's first intelligent induction system ..... The blossoming of related exhibits and technologies marks the imminent entry of mankind into the era of smart ...

Let’s face it – things don’t always go as planned. There are countless steps that occur between moving your cargo from point A to point B, which means there are countless things that can go awry. If you have made it past some of the main check points – the product has a buyer, the space is reserved on the vessel, AES has been filed, equipment was available, all containers have been pulled, filled, and returned to the port by the cargo cut-off, documentation has been submitted by the docs cut-off, and the vessel has sailed with all containers confirmed on board – you may wonder: What could possibly go wrong at this point? CARGO HAS BEEN SHIPPED TO THE WRONG DESTINATION. After the minor heart-attack caused by the realization that your shipment of kangaroo food is on its way to Malaga, Spain instead of Malaga, Australia, your next step will be to request a Change of Destination (COD) or Diversion. A COD or Diversion is the act of altering the destination port, or final destination cit...

We have to be extremely careful in international trade because there are too many frauds. Sometimes, we purchase through some e-business platforms or trade platforms, which tend to have a low threshold and not strictly audited. In China, to register a shell company cost is simple and does not cost much. There are lawless persons who take advantage of those bugs and spend a few hundred dollars to register a company, and then release the information with a very attractive price. When people are interested, they act very formal by providing fixed-line phone numbers, bank accounts, emails and etc., quite deceiving. In case of this, we cannot fly to China every time for field survey, and when we pay a deposit, these people disappear. There are many poorly managed factories which do not have the ability to handle orders, but they act this way for deposits. If you have the energy and time to fly to China and file a lawsuit, he may return the deposit and he will not refund the deposit if yo...

When our international buyers purchase products from around the world, they have to choose a freight forwarder when it comes to transportation. Although it does not seem very important, if handled properly, it will cause some problems, so we have to be very careful. When we choose FOB, the transportation will be arranged by us and the cargo rights are in our hands. In case of CIF, the transportation is arranged by the factory, and the cargo rights are also in their hands. When there is a dispute or some unexpected situation, the selection of freight forwarders will be decisive. Then how do we choose a freight forwarder? 1)If your supplier is relatively large in China, and you have worked with it for a long time, you trust it for good cooperation, and your shipment is of a large volume (100 HQ per month or more), then I suggest that you choose a large-scale world-class freight forwarder, such as Panalpina they have their advantages: Those company have very mature operation, a ...

Many of those in the shipping industry have been following the discussion about China’s announcement of its Import Ban on certain recycling products, to go into effect by the end of 2017. Among the items included on the list are most scrap plastics (“including polymers of ethylene, styrene, vinyl chloride and PET…”) and mixed paper. China already notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) of its intent to ban the import of certain scrap materials. CHINA’S DECISION WILL HAVE A CRUCIAL IMPACT ON U.S. EXPORTS INTO CHINA AS THE U.S. EXPORT MARKET IS BASED ON COMMODITY EXPORTS. This means the ban will also have a major impact on ocean carriers, forwarders, NVOCCs, truckers, warehouses, and labor. You may already have heard some of the announcements from the carriers that they will not accept any scrap bookings into China from the U.S. According to ISRI, with more than $5.6 billion in scrap commodities exported from the U.S. to China last year alone, the trade in specification-grad...