Asian Shippers Association claims for simple surcharge

The 23rd Northeast Asian Shippers Association meeting included Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong, and was held in Hong Kong on August 15th hosted by the Hong Kong Shipper’s Association.

The meeting focused on discussing issues such as logistic matters in trading environments. FASC and representatives from China, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand and Macao also participated.

In the meeting, shippers insisted that surcharges were overly-complicated, e.g. Terminal Handling Charges (THC), Peak Season Surcharges (PSS), the Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF), Documentation Fees, War Risk Surcharges, and that simplification is needed.

They also agreed to inspect cargoes for the sake of anti-terror as long as it did not disrupt business. For example, 24 hr AMS (Automatic Manifest Submission) led to extra charges and lead times for shippers, forcing carriers to add the AMS surcharge. Despite the inconvenience, shippers generally regard the 24 hr AMS regulation as an opportunity to improve logistic technology. Shippers could save on management costs and reduce mistakes in the process of sending data.

Meanwhile, they confessed worries in the meeting about security charges that some container terminals in Europe place on shipping, promising co-operation and to not introduce a similar surcharge in Asia.

The Northeast Asian Shippers Meeting also changed its name to the Asian Shippers’ Group Meeting, opening its doors to all Asian Shippers’ Associations. The first Asian Shippers’ Group Meeting will be held in Korea in 2004.