Limits of Liability (Cargo Claims)
By Sea - Hague Visby Rules
SDR 2 per kilo or
SDR 666.64 per package
By Road - CMR
SDR 8.33 per kilo
By Air - Warsaw/Montreal
SDR 17 per kilo
IIFA Standard Trading Conditions
SDR 2 per kilo
The SDR rate on 3/10/2008
according to the International Monetary Fund
was ISDR = 0.9009430000 Euro
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IIFA launches the FIATA Diploma in Freight Forwarding
This is the first time that this course is being offered to freight forwarders in full-time employment in Ireland and the method of delivery i.e. blended learning (combination of distance learning and periodic tutorials) was chosen to give participants the greatest degree of flexibility in completing the course.
The FIATA Diploma in Freight Forwarding course starts in November 2008 and finishes in June 2009.
The modules are; Freight Forwarding, Air freight, Sea freight, Customs Clearance, Road Transport, Logistics/Supply Chain Management, Insurance/Legal, Computer and Information Technology in Forwarding, and Dangerous Goods.
Since 1996 there have been over five thousand diplomas issued world-wide. It is a qualification of distinction and recognised as such within the industry and outside in international trade. Apart from the tutorial you decide when to study and learn. The FIATA Diploma is an international qualification and a career differentiator. Support via email will be available for the duration of the course from the expert IIFA panel.
This course is designed for managers, supervisors and front line staff across all company functions and modes and is designed to increase your internal mobility opportunities by broadening and deepening knowledge of Freight Forwarding. The cost is E1950 per participant but for Full Trading Members of IIFA there is a sliding scale of charges for numbers of participants.
Please alert your colleagues and staff to the availability of this course.
Full details available from iifa@eircom.net.
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Class Action - Over $1 billion 'gettin' gev'
According to some commentators civil actions against airlines in the US and Europe will result in their ending up paying out more than $1 billion in settlement of various Class Actions. IIFA, has for some time been in negotiations with expert firms in Class Actions in the USA and we hope to be in a position to advise all our members of all the options and possibilities in the near future.
The US Department of Justice and the European Commission held investigations into allegations that more than 20 airlines were involved in a price-fixing cartel in relation to the provision of freight services. Firms may be eligible to apply for a refund, if during the period from January 1st 200 through September 11, 2006 they purchased air cargo freight services either within, to or from the United States or Canada.
We will be informing our members as matters progress over the next few weeks.
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Trans Siberian Rail link
Fujitsu-Siemens Computers is the first shipper to utilize DB Schenker's TransEurasian operation as its third option after seafreight and airfreight. Both companies are running a dedicated one-off China to Hamburg train it is hoped that this will become a regular service by early next year.
Fujitsu-Siemens maintain that deep sea shipping is now too slow to keep up with the demands of the retail computer market and that air freight is too expensive whereas rail was an option between speed and cost. Hans Erbe, senior director of logistics at Fujitsu-Siemens Computers told International Freight Weekly (IFW) that the value of goods in a container depreciated while in transit, and individual items could lose between E5 and E10 in value during the 28-35 day transit time from China by sea. This applied particularly to mobile phones and computer equipment which dated quickly.
The rail link takes between 12 and 17 days and costs 25% of airfreight and is 10 days shorter than sea. An initial test run was run earlier in the year after which Fujitsu-Siemens approached DB. Mr. Erbe said "This is no gimmick or just a nice story, it is a real business case".
The 100 teu boxtrain left Xiangtang, 700km. north of Hong Kong on 19th of September to begin its journey to Hamburg with 50,000 computer monitors and mobile phones in 40ft containers. The train is running its full length of 1000 metres in China and Russia. However once it reaches the Belarussian border, it needs to be split to conform with smaller European rail gauge clearances.
See
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Paperless airfreight takes off
Lufthansa Cargo AG, together with its Global Partner DB Schenker, last Wednesday despatched the first paperless airfreight shipment from the German market. Right on time, at 17.55 hrs. local time, the item of freight on board Lufthansa Passage's flight LH712 left Frankfurt heading for the South Korean capital of Seoul. As a result, the first e-freight transport started a month earlier than originally planned.
After the successful maiden flight, which was prepared in close cooperation with the German authorities and customs, the use of e-freight is planned to be gradually increased on the route between Germany and Korea. Furthermore, in the next few months Lufthansa Cargo wants to extend e-freight to further German stations and markets in Asia like Singapore and Hong Kong.
The IATA "e-freight" project was initiated in 2004 within the framework of the Association's "Simplifying the Business" programme and represents a large step in the direction of process simplification for the airfreight industry.
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Up to 35 days Wait at the Russian Border
The President of Turkey's freight forwarding association, told the FIATA 2008 Congress in Vancouver last week of Turkish trucking companies being forced to wait up to 35 days at the Russian border. Mr Kostas Sandalcidis described how Russian customs officials had refused to accept TIR carnets of Turkish companies trying to enter Russia through Georgia, Ukraine and Belarus making drivers wait for between 30 and 35 days. In one case, involving a full truckload of tomatoes, Russian officials insisted on counting the tomatoes one by one.
He concluded with the news that the situation has recently been improved after the involvement of Turkey's prime minister with Russian authorities.
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On 29th of September IWT have moved to their new Warehouse and Offices at:
Unit 1 A Damastown Way,
Damastown.
Dublin 15.
Tel: 00 353 1 880 1800
Fax: 00 353 1 880 1804
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Major Change in Law for Retail and Industrial Property
Since Sunday 20th of July last one the most far reaching changes to commercial landlord and tenant law in the last 15 years came into force. From that date all commercial tenants can opt out of their statutory entitlement to renew their leases. Section 47 of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008 extends the opt out (contracting out) provision to all tenants of business premises provided the tenant has obtained independent legal advice and signed a deed of renunciation.
Before this new law, the only means of preventing renewal rights accruing for retail and industrial tenants was to ensure that a tenancy was for less than five years duration.
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Hi-Tech Associates, a leading training provider offering a broad range of state-of-the art educational courses and services, have announced a range of RFID training courses, all supported by the FAS One Step Up initiative.
Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, is a powerful, flexible technology, which is already having a significant transformational effect on the way we do business and the way we live our lives. RFID technology includes applications in transport, logistics, supply-chain, food safety, travel, retail, pharmaceutical, security, hospitals, manufacturing and other leading industry sectors. Analysts and investors are expecting RFID to dramatically change the way we do business in the future, and for this reason it is crucial for the Irish economy that businesses have access to high quality training.
Courses will range from industry sector such as transport, logistics and retail to general RFID awareness training. These courses will insure that essential future skills and RFID best practice are available to Irish companies, large and small.
Michael Pollock of Hi-Tech Associates said: "We expect companies in sectors such as retail, transport, logistics, supply-chain management, healthcare, pharmaceutical, food safety and security will benefit from these RFID training programmes. Irish companies can gain competitive advantage by using RFID technologies in innovative ways".
If you are interested in attending any RFID training course, please contact Michael Pollock at (01) 882 0000 by e-mail mp@hitech.iol.ie or visit www.rfidtraining.ie
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World Economic Forum-
Chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission describes US Regulators actions as "ridiculous."
We wanted to stay away from world financial matters in this issue, seeing as how almost every publication is wall to wall on the subject. However an article concerning the issues involved at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2008 in Tianjin, People's Republic of China on 27th of September, caught our attention.
In a session on the risks to global growth William R. Rhodes, Senior Vice-Chairman, Citigroup, Chairman, President and CEO, Citibank NA, Citi, USA warned participants "Decoupling is not a reality. What is happening in the markets in the US is affecting the credit markets worldwide. We are in a crisis of confidence. There is just no confidence in financial institutions in the market". Rhodes reckoned that "One of the things that must come out of this crisis that did not come out of previous crises is some form of international accounting standards. We really need a set of internationally accepted regulatory norms. We are too tied together in a globalized world."
(George Soros in a book entitled "The Crisis of Global Capitalism" advocated this 10 years ago. Then again what would he know about International finance? :) Ed.
Mr Rhodes call was echoed by Liu Mingkang, Chairman, China Banking Regulatory Commission, People's Republic of China, "What we must have is international cooperation," said Liu." The current crisis is global in nature but regulation is still based on the national." He added: "The degree of leverage nowadays is dangerous and indefensible. Worse, it is not regulated by any prudential supervision. The problems of the Asian financial crises 10 years ago have appeared once again." He suggested that other countries learn from the close macroeconomic management and supervision that China has exercised in recent years. "When US regulators allowed down payments on housing purchases to zero and permitted so-called reverse mortgages, we saw this as ridiculous" Liu remarked.
He further advocated a refocus of efforts on risk management, better governance and responsible leadership. "Fish don't stink from the tail" Liu reminded participants.
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Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan TD on Wednesday 17th September 2008, announced an investment of e30 million by IBM, supported by IDA Ireland, in a next generation 'Green' Data Centre at IBM's Technology Campus in Dublin.
The new facility, which is fully owned and operated by IBM, will provide a wide range of new and cost effective IT services for the Irish marketplace. It will also serve as a Global Supply Chain Hub for delivering IBM Software to clients in 84 countries worldwide.
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Dusseldorf airport handles Madonna tour equipment
The pop star Madonna's highly popular sticky & sweet tour of 17 live concerts went to Dusseldorf (Germany) on 4 September. She performed at the LTU Arena, just 6 km away from the country's third biggest airport, Dusseldorf international.
Rock-it Cargo, an international forwarder specializing in the music industry, chartered an Atlas Air B747-400 freighter to move the 9,684 t of stage equipment from Germany to Milan (Italy) for her concert in Rome (Italy) on 6 September. The equipment arrived by road from Amsterdam (Netherlands) and for the outbound leg everything was built up on pallets at the stadium by DUS Cargo Logistics, the leading line handling agent at Dusseldorf airport.
After the concert, the pallets were transported to DUS Cargo Logistics´ warehouse for a security check before being loaded back onto the freighter.
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