Strong June Long Beach
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The Port of Long Beach is the second-busiest container port in the United States and it is a major gateway for US-Asian trade. It was ranked as the number one container port in the Western Hemisphere (2000-2020) and handled 9.2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2020. However, during the pandemic we saw the Port of Long Beach back up and slow down significantly. Now that the country has opened back up we are seeing that consumers are warming back up in terms of spending. Just in time for summertime recreation and entertainment.
According to DC Velocity cargo volume through the Port of Long Beach rose 20% year-over-year in June. As mentioned before this is due to the strong and increasing e-commerce activity. The port moved 724,297 TEUs during the month of June, with imports rising nearly 19% and exports relatively flat. Empty containers moved through the port jumped 36% to 250,249 TEUs.
Experts anticipate that this busy summer will drive much of the cargo movement through the rest of this year. Long Beach Harbor Commission President Frank Colonna said, “We’re optimistic that this is shaping up to be one of our business years on record as we continue to overcome the challenges related to COVID-19. We will continue to collaborate with our waterfront workers and industry partners to move cargo quickly and efficiently through the supply chain during this time of ongoing economic recovery.”
If there is a lot of activity going on at the Port of Long Beach that is a good sign for our economy. If the port is doing well the economy is doing well. Hopefully, this rising activity and increased movement at the ports continues as the summer progresses.
For more information on the import and export industry stay updated here on our monthly blog!
Importing and Exporting Done Right: Part 2
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A couple of months ago we outlined some helpful tips on how to import and export the right way. Today we are going to continue that conversation by giving you three more tips. Let us get started!
Having the right logistics strategy and even making changes can yield savings on tariffs. For example, Donald Hoffman who is the president of Harmony Logistics Group in Oakdale, New York, and chairman of the Long Island Import Export Association (LIIEA) once helped a company that used to move product from Morocco to France for repackaging, and then shipped it to the U.S. This logistics move helped save the company a lot of money because they took advantage of the Morocco Free Trade Agreement. This agreement allowed the company to direct-ship their product from Morocco and come in duty-free. This logistics strategy seemed like a big move at the time but ended up helping the company save a good amount of money.
In addition to this, creating a formal operation run by an expert is crucial to having success whether you are an importer or exporter. You must develop a formal program to manage functions, with written policies and processes. Ideally, a company that imports or exports significant volumes will put a staff member in charge of meeting all applicable tax and regulatory obligations, even when the company also uses a customs broker or other provider. The last thing you want is to lose money because a product was misclassified, someone failed to file a declaration, or because a product was exported to a person on the U.S. government’s denied parties list. Put someone in charge of the operation to avoid such problems.
The third thing you can do to put yourself in the best position in this industry is to understand requirements on both sides of the border. There are different regulations in terms of time frames, hours of service, and ways that you can load freight into certain types of equipment. For example, if you are exporting to Mexico, you will need a government-authorized trading partner south of the border. Not every company in Mexico can legally import cargo. Similarly, if you are exporting to Mexico from the U.S. you must be carful about where in Mexico you plan to ship. This is because big cities might have the industrial parks with sufficient infrastructure to receive all kinds of shipments. However, some less-developed areas, tractor-trailers sometimes require special permits. If you understand rules on both sides of the border you will be fine. It is just a matter of doing your homework.
Use these tips to help you nail importing and exporting. It can be a hard and daunting task to get everything in place but if you do it right you can have great success. For more information on importing and exporting stay updated here on our monthly blog.
Importing Wholesale
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What is DrawbackContact usImporting wholesale is a common starting point among those who are just entering the import and export industry. Anyone can go into this business as it is not too difficult to learn how to find suppliers and manufacturers, import from other countries, and sell products for a good profit. When importing wholesale, it is important to take these five steps as you go along.Do your research by studying the latest trends, studying emerging trends, identifying niche markets. The last thing you want is to import goods from another country and lose money because they will not sell.Identify good suppliers by taking the time to authenticate and verify the integrity of suppliers that you do business with. If you look for suppliers online be careful of fraudulent websites. Make phone calls, study them, and read all reviews and feedback received.Do not be afraid to contact the supplier to get the specifics and arrange for a small sample order. By getting a small sample order you will be able to do things like test, validate, and inspect the product.Once you have done your research, found a good supplier, and tested your supplier/product you are ready to place an order. When doing so make sure you contact a certified customs broker to ensure that you have filled out the correct forms and all import requirements are addressed.Lastly, receive the goods and turn it into a profit. This last step can be hard because although you did your research and studying beforehand, you have to continue to do so as you sell. Markets change, customers change, preferences change. To make sure that your products keep bringing you a profit, continuously do your research and stay informed!Take these five steps when you are importing wholesale and you will be off to a great start to success.Importing from China
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Many companies within the U.S. import goods from China. Last year China’s trade surplus reached $422 billion U.S. dollars. Why? Well, China is a low-cost labor country, their raw materials cost about 1/10th of U.S. raw materials, and the Chinese are simply the best designers. Their vision of product design across industries is second to none. That being said, it is not hard to see why many companies choose to import from China. If you run a company that is looking to import goods from China, well, that is not a bad idea at all. But, you should consider doing a few things.
Define your product’s quality benchmark. In order to do this, you and your team need to work on three design aspects. First work on your ideal design and specifications. Then, finalize the flow of work to be carried out on raw materials. Lastly, decide on a benchmark. Know what your ideal quality standards are and your acceptable levels of flaws.
Next, you need to communicate quality standards to the supplier. Define things like protocols and timing. Communicate in person as much as possible. Form that relationship and do not get comfortable doing business only online.
You should also ensure that your product’s quality criteria is fulfilled by the supplier. In other words, compare what they give you to the benchmark that your company has created. A good way to ensure that your product is up to your standards is to implement pre-production audits, in-progress audits, and post-production audits. In these audits, you can sample test and make sure everything is on track.
Lastly, delegate a responsible authority for conducting those quality control audits. It can be you, it can be someone on your team, it can be a hired on experienced professional, or it can be through a contract with a third party. Whichever option you choose, make sure someone is in charge of checking the quality of your products through audits.
Importing from China can have various benefits but highly consider doing these things when doing business with them. You will be in a much better position to succeed if you follow these suggestions.
For more information on importing and exporting stay updated here on our monthly blog.
Varying Cargo Volumes
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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused havoc across the globe. Importers and exporters are scrambling as some industries are booming while others are really struggling. It has been a mixed bag in terms of cargo volumes received last month. In May of 2020 the Port of Oakland and the Port of Los Angeles reported significant drops in cargo volumes while the Port of Long Beach reported significant growth. Oakland reported this month that the loaded box volume is projected to continue to decline as it did last month. Los Angeles moved 29.8% less in May than it did a year ago. To date, overall cargo volumes have decreased 18.7% compared to last year’s numbers. Keep in mind that May 2019 set a pretty high bar as it was the busiest month in the Port of Los Angeles’ 114-year history. The decline seems really drastic for the month of May but this is in large part because of the great month they had a year ago. In turn, the Port of Long Beach has received a shift of some services from the Port of Los Angeles and they have seen a 10% increase in their normal business traffic. The Port of Long Beach moved 628,205 TEUs last month which is a 9.5% increase from May 2019. Imports grew 7.6% to 312,590 TEUs while exports increased 11.6% to 134,556 TEUs. Though the Port of Long Beach has seen impactful growth Los Angeles’ Port Executive Director Gene Seroka says that, “any notion of economic recovery in the shipping industry is a little bit too early to discuss.” Overall, this year the cargo statistics show a 7.8% decrease compared to the same time period just a year ago. Until we see consistent growth in the majority of Ports, we cannot assume that the U.S. economy is beginning to recover.
Take Your Business Global
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Doing business with international companies is a very daunting yet rewarding task, if done correctly. If you are in the import and export industry looking for ways to improve the way you trade across borders, here are three tips from our experts at DutyCalc.
For more tips or more information about DutyCalc, visit our website or contact us directly! We look forward to doing business with you!
Understanding Risks
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Entering the global marketplace is a challenge that requires education, experience, and a driven mindset. Along with these qualities you must understand that this industry comes with risks that could lead to significant repercussions. Before entering the international marketplace, understand these risks and how to avoid them.
One risk that import and export businesses face is unpredictable shipping logistics. When its all said and done, your business success is dependent on whether you can ship goods safely and efficiently. You need to make sure that your product gets from point A to point B on time. You need to account for everything that could possibly go wrong from an employee calling in sick to damage to the cargo. The best way to mitigate this risk is to stay organized, be prepared, and partner with a reliable freight forwarder that will help you ship your goods without a hitch.
Another risk that import and export businesses face is not knowing enough about the current market. For example, did you know that exports contracted 6% last month which narrowed the trade deficit to $13.45 billion? Did you know that this was the second time that exports contracted in the current fiscal year? If not, you need to do more research on the current market. With the trade war causing changes to the global marketplace daily, it is important to consider those changes before you decide to enter the industry.
The last risk that import and export businesses face is running into problems at the border. Customs is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, hurdle that importers and exporters have to face. Customs rules are not uniform throughout the world. To avoid significant slowdowns at international customs, again, do your research or hire experts in customs law and trade compliance to help you navigate this area of the business.
Bottom line is that the import and export business is one with opportunity but is also one that comes with risks. To find success in this industry understand all of the risks, stay organized, prepare for the worst, and know how to handle logistics. If you have all of these qualities, you will be that much closer to finding success in the import and export industry.
Starting Your Import Export Business
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Starting your own business is hard. Starting your own import/export business is even harder. There is much more to understand and things can go really bad really fast if you are not careful. That being said, if you have the experience, education, grit, and drive to take on this industry you can be successful. If you are looking to get into the import/export industry by starting your own business here are a few pointers that we recommend you follow.
You need a strong online presence. Without an online presence you will not be able to have a networked import/export business. The goal of this is to balance the flow of communications, sell products online, and most importantly build your customer base to drive profits for your international business. Having a professional blog on your website will allow you to have a continuous flow of engaging communications with your clients, something that most customers want in brand new companies.
Along with an online presence you need to find out what you want to sell. This includes understanding which markets are good to enter. We recommend that you find a product or industry that you are passionate about and that you think could sell in international markets. Looking for which markets to enter is where your trend-spotting skills come in to play. In general, the best products are ones that are just starting to become popular or show some promise to being so in the future. Do your research and think before you begin because finding the right product and the right market is probably the biggest decision you will make.
When you have your online presence and product/industry decided, focus on your logistics. Logistics is the most complex aspect of importing and exporting. Think about it, you have to take a product created somewhere and sell it somewhere else. For example, how do the grapes from the vineyard in South Africa make it to the wine glasses of drinkers in California? Every successful business has a strong logistics team, plan, and strategy that makes the flow very easy for all employees. When you get your logistics down to a science, you will be ready to hit the ground running.
Building a strong online presence, figuring out what to sell and where, and getting logistics down is all very important in this industry. However, these are only three of the many aspects that make a successful import/export business. Bottom line is that this industry is a complex system that requires nothing but hard work and determination.
For more recommendations or for more general information on the import/export industry give us a call or browse our website.
Partner with DutyCalc
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When it comes to dealing with money, it is important to work with reliable and trustworthy partners. Whether you’re running a small business or a Fortune 500 company, you don’t want to run the risk of losing money because of a bad partnership. Good financial partnerships are critical especially for companies in the import/export industry because of all the details regarding drawback. If you and your business are in the import/export industry and in need of a dependable partner to help with drawback, look no further than DutyCalc. Here are 3 of the most important factors that make DutyCalc the best partners for importers and exporters.
DutyCalc has experience. Collectively, the DutyCalc team has over 4 decades of experience in duty drawback. Part of DutyCalc’s experience in duty drawback has come from partnerships with some of the biggest companies you can think of. Companies like FedEx, Fender, and TaylorMade are all current or previous clients of DutyCalc. We understand how to manage duty drawback for large companies, and we understand all of the necessary steps in the process based on our experience. Put your trust in us as we have the knowledge of how to be successful.
DutyCalc has a proven track record. Whether it was the full service drawback or the software system, Drawback.NET, we have helped clients from around the country claim drawback without fail. We help clients claim up to 99% of duty drawback! DutyCalc systems are efficient and cut down processing times significantly. Our process works and will be worth the investment. Refer to our Testimonials to see our successful track record with our clients.
Last but not least, partner with DutyCalc because we always put customers first. Providing the best customer service is our number one goal so, as a client, understand that your needs come first. If you don’t understand part of the drawback process, we’ll walk you through every step. If you’re running into technical problems with Drawback.NET, call our support team and they won’t hang up until your problem is fixed. Happy customers are what drives our business, so making them happy is our number one priority. By partnering with DutyCalc, you and your needs will always come first.
For those in the import/export industry, partner with DutyCalc as we are partners that you can rely on and trust. We have experience with some of the largest companies on Earth, we have a proven track record, and you will always get great customer service. For more information on what DutyCalc has to offer, give us a call! We look forward to working with you.
Drawback NET
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Drawback.NET If you run your own company, from the beginning, one of your goals was probably to mitigate as many costs as possible. Any successful company will have low costs and high profits, right? If you are in the import/export industry, one way to accomplish this objective, one that is often overlooked, is through duty drawback. Duty drawback provides a way to offset duties that are paid with refunds. To keep it simple, drawback is a refund of Customs duties that is paid on imported materials that are either exported or used in the manufacture of exported articles, according to American Shipper. With appropriate documentation, guidance, and filing system, you can claim up to 99% of duties paid. This is where DutyCalc comes into play.
DutyCalc has been helping companies across the country mitigate costs by helping them properly file for drawback on all of their duties. DutyCalc’s most popular product is their drawback software, called Drawback.NET. This software allows businesses to file drawback for their company by themselves. The software is user friendly and current customers have given nothing but positive feedback. DutyCalc’s goal with this software is to allow customers to have full knowledge and control of filing their duties without having to pay for a full service drawback solution. By purchasing this software, you will also be signing up for a partnership with DutyCalc. This meaning that although Drawback.NET is a self-operating software, the DutyCalc team will always be available to answer any questions or help you navigate through the software at any point in time.
Due to the recent changes in the trade war, DutyCalc has been an essential tool in the import/export industry. Filing for drawback has skyrocketed and Drawback.NET has seen great success. DutyCalc is here for you and your company to ensure that your money is claimed in full. Don’t wait any longer as our software will only benefit your company.
For more information visit our website or give us a call. Work with us to get your money back!
