All of us at Kanban Logistics are deeply saddened by this week’s tragic accident at the Port of Baltimore. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the event.
For those of you who have drayage and logistics challenges stemming from this accident, we wanted to take a moment to say that we’re here to help and explain how.
What’s Happening Now?
According to CNBC, in the wake of the catastrophic bridge collapse at the Port of Baltimore, ocean carriers are shifting responsibilities onto U.S. shippers, including retailers, invoking “force majeure” to exempt themselves from further obligations once cargo is deposited at alternative ports.
Major carriers like CMA CGM, COSCO, and Evergreen have declared that their liability ends upon the cargo’s arrival at an alternate port, while Maersk has taken a different route, offering to redirect shipments to nearby ports and facilitate land transportation to the intended destinations. This divergence in carrier responses shows the immediate logistical challenges shippers face as they seek to move their products while avoiding additional costs like detention and demurrage fees.
Shipments originally destined for Baltimore are now heading to other ports on the East Coast – especially the Port of Norfolk and the Port of NY/NJ. According to the CNBC article, these ports are able to receive the extra cargo but are concerned about chassis availability for the incoming containers.
How Can Kanban Help?
Kanban can help your logistics operations get on – and stay on – track through our following service offerings.
Drayage capacity. If your shipments are arriving at the seaports at Norfolk, VA or Wilmington, NC, you can rely on Kanban for drayage and container stripping services. We’ll receive your container, unload it at our North Carolina logistics campus, palletize products, and perform any necessary value-added logistics services.
Cross docking services. Kanban’s warehouses offer cross docking services in which goods are delivered to a loading dock for temporary storage or direct transfer to another truck. The time and costs of long-term warehousing are skipped while distribution can continue with minimal interruption.
Shared warehousing. Kanban’s nearly 2 million square feet of prime logistics space includes space for shared warehousing. With the shared warehousing (or “public warehousing”) model, you simply pay for the space and services you use. If volumes – and your operation’s space and service needs – are modest, then your costs will be, as well. When your sales start booming or peak season arrives and you need more space and services, your costs will scale accordingly – but they’ll always be in proportion to your needs.
Rail capabilities. Kanban has both rail siding and a transload yard at our Rocky Mount facility, which is served by CSX rail and can support your movements into and out of the new CSX intermodal terminal. In fact, Kanban is recognized as a premier provider in CSX’s TransFLO program, which transloads commodities between rail cars and trucks in the Eastern U.S. and Canada.
Rework services. If you have an imported shipment of a product that needs to be reworked and/or repackaged. You can ship it back to its origin for these services – taking substantial hits to your wallet and product turn time in the process. Or, you can save time and money by working with a 3PL that specializes in rework services and can perform the job quickly and cost-effectively.
To learn more about the ways in which Kanban can support your operations during these difficult times, please contact us today.
