FRACHT NEWS

Our Atlanta branch will be moving. As of Monday, September 13, 2010 their new address will be:

591 N Central Avenue
Atlanta, GA 30354-1661

The phone and fax numbers remain the same.

With EU Regulation 1875/2006 - Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) Europe is introducing their own version of the 24 hour rule.

The rule will require carriers to electronically transmit one Entry Summary Declaration (ENS) per Bill of Lading or Seaway Bill to customs in the country of first arrival within the European Union. The transmission has to be made at least 24 hours prior to the start of loading the vessel from a non-EU load port.

The transmission of ENS is mandatory for all cargo to be discharged in an EU port (including trans-shipment cargo) as well as FROB cargo (Foreign cargo Remaining On Board), i.e. cargo which is discharged in a port outside the EU after the vessel has called at an EU port.

ENS transmissions require the following data points:

• Full name and address of consignor and consignee
• Full name and address of notify party where goods are carried under a negotiable "to order" B/L
• Container number
• Goods description (general terms such as consolidated goods or general cargo will not be accepted)
• At least the first four digits of the HS Code
• Number and type of packages
• Shipping marks
• Cargo gross weight
• Seal number
• UN dangerous goods code where applicable
• Method of payment in case of prepaid, for example payment in cash, payment by check, electronic credit transfer, etc.

The customs office at the first EU port of entry will carry out a security risk assessment that is common to all 27 EU Member States. If a risk is identified a "Do Not Load" message is generated and subsequent ports and the port of loading will be notified:

Risk Type A = do not load (unique to the maritime mode)
Risk Type B = interception of a suspicious shipment at the first port of entry
Risk Type C = interception of a suspicious shipment at the port or discharge.

At this time there is no information available about enforcement or fines for non-compliance.

Resource:
EU Member States at a glance: http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/index_en.htm

This spring Fracht Switzerland again passed the ISO certification process for 3 years.

Please find enclosed our new certificates for ISO 9001 in French, German and English and for ISO 14001 in French, German and English.

Fracht USA has been honored with the Alstom Power Award 2010 for Outstanding Customer Service, Transportation Logistics.

The award was presented at the annual Alstom 2010 Supplier Forum, which was held in Richmond, VA last week.

Alstom Power is the world leader in integrated power plants for the production of electricity and air quality control systems. Alstom has solutions for all energy sources (coal, gas, nuclear, fuel-oil, hydropower, wind) and is a leader in innovative technologies for the protection of the environment.

Please see below details of our new office as of April 1st

Fracht FWO Inc.
2200 East Devon Avenue
Suite 300
Des Plaines, IL 60018

Please note that our Los Angeles office is moving.

New address as of March 29, 2010:

Fracht FWO Inc.
373 Van Ness Avenue
Suite 210
Torrance, CA 90501

Phone and fax numbers remain unchanged.

Shippers and carriers alike, take notice. On March 17, 2010, Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Richard A. Lidinsky Jr. announced that the FMC will initiate a Non-adjudicatory Fact-Finding Investigation to examine recent capacity and shipping availability issues affecting U.S. imports and exports during testimony before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. The conclusions of the Investigation likely will have broad implications for carriers and shippers alike, although the full extent of the potential impact has yet to be determined. We anticipate that the FMC will be contacting carriers and shippers within the next few weeks as part of the Fact-Finding process.

This Investigation is a response to shippers' concerns about the lack of available vessel capacity. As a result of the deepening of the recession in late 2008, many carriers removed vessels from service due to a dramatic drop in demand for their services. While recent economic improvement has spurred growth in demand for container transportation, Chairman Lidinsky noted that needed vessels have not been redeployed to service at an equivalent pace. As a result, many shippers have incurred significant delays in completing shipments or have been unable to obtain containers, particularly on transpacific shipments. At the same time, shippers have complained that they often are charged higher rates to ensure transportation of their cargo.

Noting President Obama's goal to increase U.S. exports over the next five years, Chairman Lidinsky expressed serious concern with the difficulties faced by U.S. shippers and announced a broad agenda for the Fact-Finding Investigation. The goal is to explore how the FMC can help resolve the current situation either by policy or regulatory actions.

Commissioner Rebecca F. Dye will lead the Fact-Finding Investigation. Specifically, she will seek to develop a record regarding:

• Recent conditions in the U.S. export and import liner trades;
• Current and forecasted practices by vessel operating common carriers ("VOCCs") regarding the management and allocation of VOCC-, shipper-, and leasing company-owned equipment for the U.S. import and export trades;
• Current practices and plans of VOCCs regarding the deployment of vessel capacity in the U.S. trades;
• Current and planned practices relating to service contracting in the U.S. liner trades, specifically:
  
  • The practices of VOCCs with respect to the booking of cargo before and after minimum quantity commitment of a service contract has been met but before the term of that contract has expired;
  • The practices of VOCCs with respect to the cancellation of cargo bookings;
  • The practices of carriers and shippers with respect to the overbooking of cargo; and
  • The impact of those practices on the availability of liner service to meet the demands of U.S. exporters and importers; and
• Any related conditions or practices that affect the U.S. liner trades.

Information courtesy of www.venable.com.

We are delighted to announce that effective February 9, 2010 Metro Shipping Limited has been accredited with full Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) Status for both Customs Simplifications and Safety & Security.

AEO is the European Union equivalent of C-TPAT.

We justed added a Tips page in our Tools section.

This page will feature resources and tips for our customers. To kick it of we posted a link to page on the US Customs and Border Protection web site with information for New Importers and Exporters.

We will continue to add more tips and resources as we come across them.

January 26, 2010, marks the enforcement date for the importer security filing (ISF) rule (also called 10+2), and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently released details on its enforcement approach. CBP now terms the enforcement approach as "graduated escalated", which mirrors its "informed compliance" approach used in previously rolled out programs. This approach is more lenient than previously communicated in CBP's January 14th announcement. Below are highlights of CBP's enforcement approach:

• CBP will not use data collected during the delayed enforcement period (over the past year) against the trade. After January 26, 2010, as CBP moves toward stricter enforcement, the data gathered will be used to enforce the filing requirements.
• No liquidated damages will be issued during the first quarter (until April or May 2010) instead CBP will issue warning letters. When importers fail to file, CBP will send a letter notifying them they are required to file an ISF and that failure to file will result in liquidated damages and other cargo release delays. If importers are experiencing difficulty filing, CBP will help to resolve issues during the first quarter.
• CBP will issue do not loads (DNLs) when it's appropriate for national security purposes; however, it will not take action for shipment issues solely relating to ISF.
• During the second quarter, CBP will put shipments on hold if they are at risk, no ISF has been filed, and CBP has informed the responsible party. If CBP sees repeated incidents of not filing an ISF and a response is not received from the filer, CBP may issue liquidated damages.
• In the third and fourth quarters, CBP will take a stronger enforcement approach - including liquidated damages and cargo holds - for members of the trade that fail to file ISFs or do not rectify ISF issues that CBP works with them to correct.
• Due to increased security precautions, shipments identified as high risk that do not include an ISF may experience delays including request for documentation, non-intrusive inspections, and cargo holds.
• ISF bonds will be required beginning January 26, 2010.

CBP stated that further details regarding its "graduated escalated" approach will be available shortly.

With effect on January 16th 2010 our office address will change to:

Fracht (Shanghai) Ltd.
Suite #2608
26th Floor China Insurance Building
166 Lu Jia Zui Road (E), Pudong
CN-Shanghai 200120

Telephone and Fax Nos. remain unchanged.

We are pleased to announce the opening of our latest office in Azerbaijan. They handle all general cargo with a particular focus on the Oil and Gas Industry of Azerbaijan.

Their particulars are:

FRACHT AZERBAIJAN LLC
AGA Business Centre
5th Floor
55, Khodjali Avenue
Baku

Key contacts: