freight shipping Archives - Excelsior Worldwide Logistics Corp.

Why Freight Shipping is Important in the Philippine Transportation Industry?

excelsior on May 15, 2020

Freight shipping is the term used to describe the practice of transporting commodities, cargo, and goods via land, air, or sea. Being an archipelagic country, freight shipping plays a major role to the Philippine economy. With thousands of islands trading different products that keep the economy intact, the importance of freight shipping become even stronger especially for the transportation industry.

In this article, we have gathered some information regarding the essence of freight shipping in the context of transportation:

Freight Shipping: One of the Oldest Industries

Freight shipping is known to be one of the oldest industries in the world, entering the Philippines for as early as the pre-colonial period. During this time (around mid-16^th century), the islands were already populated with trade routes used by merchants selling products from China, India, and other Southeast Asian countries. As time goes by, with the advancements in the field of technology, freight shipping in the Philippines continued to grow together with the rising demands of products that are only available in certain regions of the country. Thus, with the arrival of the colonizers, Filipinos continued to take advantage of utilizing freight shipping as a primary method of trading from one place to another.

Facts that You Need to Know About the Impact of Freight Shipping

Few people have a grasp of how freight shipping affects the world, let alone the transportation industry in the Philippines. To help you understand the impact of freight shipping, take a look at the following facts that are just outright interesting:

The Philippines is slowly establishing a global reputation as one of the leading ship producers. In 2010, the country was hailed as the fourth-largest producer of ships in the world.
According to a 2017 review of the local maritime industry, Philippines have a 4.2 market share in container ships, which makes it on par with other world-class ship producers such as China, South Korea, and Japan.
Several data suggested that the Philippines is a potential competitor for global container shipping services.
The top trading partners of the Philippines are as follows: Australia, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and South Korea.
In 2016 the nation registered a +4.6 growth rate in the national fleet. Most of it consists of carriers, general cargo, and container ships.

Hurdles that Businesses must Overcome in Freight Shipping

Given the significance of freight shipping in the Philippines, businesses especially those that are still new to the industry must be able to have an in-depth understanding of how specific systems work in order for them to be successful. This involves having knowledge in the overall process of shipping, which can be quite a challenge even for the seasoned ones.

If you own a business that is aiming for reaching greater number of customers across country borders, you will need professional help to guide you all the way through the requirements. In these case, hiring freight forwarders and customs brokers is the most ideal solution.

Excelsior Worldwide Freight Logistics conducts free orientation for those who are willing to learn. It is our advocacy to share our knowledge & experience worth more than a decade in the business. Visit our website today at www.excelsior.ph to learn more about our service.

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Tips for Saving Money on Freight Shipping – Infographic

excelsior on November 30, 2019

For any business owner trying to sell their products overseas, saving money on shipping costs can be a breather. While it may seem like going for cheaper shipping services isn’t a good idea, there are several methods that can help any company in reducing their shipping expenses while increasing margins and enhancing customer satisfaction at the same time.

In case your shipping costs is giving a negative toll to your profit, here are some of the best ways of saving money on freight shipping:

Tip #1: Select the Most Suitable Mode of Transportation

To be an efficient importer/exporter, it is your duty to understand and assess which of the most common mode of transportations is the best one for you.

Here is a list of transportation models that are highly available today:

Air Shipment
Rail Shipment
Ocean Vessel
Over-the-Road Trucking

Knowing how to weigh your options in terms of choosing the mode of transportation can make it easier for you to select a specific carrier company to entrust your products.

Tip #2: Research a List of Carrier Companies and Compare their Rates

Expanding your choices of carrier companies enables you to periodically check whether you’re already using the least costly carrier service available or not. Try asking each carrier for a freight quote and invest in a reliable TMS software to automate this method.

Tip #3: Be Practical with Your Packaging Materials

If you’re running a retail store, reusing the packaging materials you received (like packing peanuts, air pillows, bubble wrap, etc.) from your suppliers is much more economical. You should also pay attention to the weight of your shipment. Make sure that you will prefer lighter packaging materials over the heavier ones. For example, it’s better to use packing peanuts instead of wool blankets.

Tip #4: Consolidate Your Shipment

Avoid sending over multiple boxes to the carrier if it’s possible to pack them together to form a single cargo. Consolidating your shipment can restrict its weight, density, and the odds of taking damage or loss.

Tip #5: Hire a Freight Forwarder

One of the most effective ways of minimizing your shipping expenses is by seeking the help of a freight forwarding agency. Having a reliable freight forwarder can be an advantage as they are well-connected with multiple carrier companies which enables them to negotiate the best rate for transporting your products. Moreover, freight forwarders can also provide you with knowledge about logistics in ways that could benefit your business.

Apply these five tips in your shipping operations to ensure that you will be able to conserve your resources and ultimately increase your profit!

The Impact of Natural Disasters on Freight Shipping

excelsior on April 15, 2019

In terms of economy, any country will always rely on the continuous transportation of goods and materials that keeps the relationship between suppliers and manufacturers in harmony. This process is very critical for maintaining economic growth because any moment of disruption could bring serious adverse effects. Some of these disruptions are caused by certain deregulations in the financial industry that are to some extent, quite avoidable. However, another thing that can affect a country’s economy is freight shipping, which can sometimes depend on several factors that unfortunately are beyond our control: natural disasters.

Speaking about natural disasters in the Philippines, the likes of floods, typhoons, and earthquakes, are quite common. These calamities typically leave most of the routes that are essential for freight shipping operations unsafe such as roads and seas. This reason is also why you should also be aware of the following ways of how nature can make a significant impact on freight shipping:

The Price of Fuel

One of the most critical prices to look out for when there’s a natural calamity going on is the price of fuel in the world market. Since the cost of most goods and other services are very much dependent on the value of fuel as the source of transportation, your chosen carrier can charge you more than usual. The worst-case scenario in this situation is when there’s a typhoon going on oil refineries strong enough to make it temporarily shut down due to damages.

The Expected Arrival of your Goods

Time is more than just gold in the world of business. Importing your goods in a faraway place requires a definite amount of time to keep up against competitors that are nearer than your target customer. Moreover, if you sell something that thrives on punctuality to retain its usefulness such as food, you should know by now that delayed delivery can ruin its condition. So, if you just shipped your goods during a storm, you better expect for the worse. Carriers tend to choose longer routes over the shorter ones if they find the latter impassable due to the dangers involved.

Refusal of Carriers to take your Cargo

Natural disasters will always make most carriers to be more vigilant to take anyone’s goods. Denial of your goods directly gives detrimental effects on your supply chain, eventually losing considerable revenues in the long run. Just imagine all of your business operations being halted in such a significant amount of time.

Freight Shipping Rates

Rates for freight shipping is always flexible especially on the event of calamities. A domino-effect will most likely happen until it makes its way for you. From the impassable roads making the fuel much more expensive to the delayed accomplishment of shipping service, most financial burdens will be passed into you.

Conclusion

As a business owner looking to ship your goods, anticipating natural disasters is a key for preventing any financial loses that can delay your company’s growth. Always take heed of the weather updates and recent news before making any move.

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