Shippers launch global assault on 'unsubstantiated' charges

The world’s shippers have launched a full-scale attack against what they describe as “unsubstantiated” shipping surcharges and terminal charges, according to Dr Beverley Waugh, executive director of the SA Shippers' Council (SASC). The Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) has called for transparency and government intervention to deal with these charges – which it accuses of being “non-negotiable” and “anti-competitive”, she told FTW. “At its recent annual meeting in Los Angeles, the GSF agreed to organise a new global campaign to confront the imposition of unsubstantiated shipping surcharges, terminal charges and more than 20 other nonnegotiable local charges on shippers worldwide – coming to a grand total of 39 ‘extras’,” Waugh added. And, according to the GSF, this campaign is targeted at convincing the world’s competition watchdogs (or other appropriate regulatory bodies) to bring in new shipping legislation that will pass the death sentence on these local anti-competitive practices. Waugh pointed out that these malpractices were widespread. And the shippers’ beef is that these are nonnegotiated charges imposed on consignors and shippers without any shipper input. “The consignor or shipper has no control or influence in their freight rate negotiations with the shipping line, terminal operator, shipping agent, or third party logistics provider,” she said. “GSF members complained that shippers generally were not party to the contracts in which these fees were set, yet they had no choice but to pay the fees if they wanted their cargo to be transported.” Waugh also stressed that, according to discussion at the GSF, it was pointed out that Africa (along with Asia and South America) had been a hotbed for these malpractices for many years. “As stated by our colleagues at the Union of African Shippers’ Councils (UASC) and Cameroon Shippers’ Council, this campaign is an important initiative to address abusive practices of carriers and terminals,” she added. “They also stated that it effectively started to highlight to the whole world the trouble that shippers (with particular reference to cargo owners but including service providers in SA) in various regions are going through.” In work undertaken in West and Central Africa by the UASC, shippers’ organisations in the region have identified that the additional cost to trade from these anti-competitive practices in the region is likely to represent billions of US dollars. As an example, the UASC estimated that the cost to the economies of Ghana, Cameroun and Nigeria alone would be about the equivalent of R6.4 billion per annum. The GSF agreed that they effectively act as an indirect trade barrier which inhibits international trade, and advised that they would take up the matter with the relevant global trade authorities. What shippers want is the so-called ‘all in inclusive freight charges’, including all local add-on charges and surcharges. List of surcharges The following are some of the charges and surcharges listed by the Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) as being unjustifiably imposed on African shippers by shipping lines and local terminal operators. It also noted that Asian and South American shippers were similarly targeted. Surcharges: » Pick up » Scanner » War risk » Off-dock » Port cost » Transit » Assurance » Emergency terminal congestion » Additional port » Entry summary declaration for exports » Ship security » Congestion » Drop-off Other charges: » Freight tax » Container cleaning charge » Manifest charge » Evaluation charge » Seal handling fee » Administrative charge