ALONG with mass transport operators,
trucking firms are suspending operations today in protest
of
the continuous escalation of crude and oil prices.
On Friday, Alliance of Concerned Truck Owners and Organization
president Ricardo Papa told PortCalls the nationwide
strike will be participated in by all truckers, including
members of the Confederation of Truckers Association
of the Philippines.
The industry is appealing for the scrapping of the Oil
Deregulation Law, which rationalizes rate increases
imposed by oil companies.
Papa said the strike, spearheaded by the National Land
Transport Council, the umbrella organization of all
transport groups, will also protest the 1,000% increase
in toll fees at the North and South Luzon Expressway
imposed early this year.
These problems, Papa said, are further aggravated by
"abusive and inefficient government officials in
the transport department" as well as traffic enforcers.
Papa said the strike is also partly in protest of "notorious
delays experienced by truckers in loading at the South
Harbor container yard."
Asian Terminals, Inc., the South Harbor's cargo handler,
said the problem cannot be placed at its doorstep. "The
process also involves the Bureau of Customs, shipping
lines and customs brokers," it said.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) recently
ordered the indefinite suspension of accreditation of
would-be bonded warehouse operators in a bid to stop
smuggling.
Through Customs Memorandum Order No. 17-2005 issued
on March 31, Customs commissioner Alberto Lina enforced
a moratorium on approvals to establish or operate off-dock
container yard-container freight station (CY-CFS), Customs
public/private bonded warehouses (CBW), common bonded
warehouses and other non-manufacturing bonded warehouse/facilities.
"Applications for the operation and establishment
of the aforesaid facilities shall be denied outright
until further instructions from the undersigned,"
the order stated.
Lina added the application for the re-activation of
inactive facilities whose operations fall within the
CBW classifications mentioned are also covered by the
moratorium.
Exempt are applications for the establishment and operation
of Customs bonded manufacturing warehouse as well as
those with existing CBWs, provided this is a manufacturing
facility.
In a recent press briefing, the commissioner said warehouse
operations have become a common conduit for illegal
activities.
"We will have to review each and every existing
warehouse to determine which can operate and which has
to be shut down," he said. At present, there are
404 active CBWs in the country.
In the review, Lina said previously accredited warehouses
will be mandated to submit additional documentation
requirements, including income tax returns (ITR), for
the last three years.
He noted that if the warehouse shows no profit for the
last three years, it will be subject to immediate closure.
He added Customs will also look closely at manufacturing
warehouses operating as CBWs just so as they can do
away with the taxes.
"Why is it that before, there are so many manufacturing
warehouses that are paying dues? Now, they are already
operating through the bonding scheme, which is absolutely
unjust," he said.
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) wants all
importers to transact with banks in the settlement of
cargo duties and taxes with the nearing imposition of
the no letter of credit (LC), no import policy.
In a recent press briefing, Customs commissioner Alberto
Lina said the new regulation will in the meantime be
imposed only on regulated items, including perishable
goods such as vegetables, fruits and rice.
"We are still waiting for the opinion of the Central
Bank of the Philippines as well as other concerned government
agencies to tell us if our move will not go against
any existing policies and regulations, including agreements
under the World Trade Organization," he said.
Lina, however, stressed in view of the immediate need
to enforce the policy, the bureau will push through
its implementation as soon as its legal department gives
the go signal.
Through LC shipments, Lina said banks can help implement
BOC regulations by checking document authenticity and
ensuring that permits used are not "recycled".
This will pave the way for close monitoring of shipment
declarations.
He added with this requirement in place, the bureau
will be able to monitor and analyze shipments well,
identify consignees, and eliminate fictitious shippers,
thereby reducing the incidence of smuggling.
With importers transacting with banks, there is a possibility
that demurrage charges may be eliminated as well. "This
will give us enough time to make a profile of the shipment
ahead of the import arrival. Then, there will be no
need for these cargoes to stay too long on warehouses
or container yards," he noted.
The usage of LCs will not, however, cover holders of
the super green card, corporate taxpayers with outstanding
records, Philippine Economic Zone Authority locators,
and users of Subic Freeport.
DHL is studying the possibility of
setting up its own Asia-Pacific hub in Clarkfield, Pampanga
in addition to its existing cargo gateway in Villamor
Airbase.
DHL Express Philippines National Marketing manager May
Cuevas, in an interview at the sidelines of the company's
Import Express Service relaunch, said the plan is being
deliberated by the regional office.
She said DHL's preference for Clark is in line with
the government's commitment to develop the area as the
region's most competitive logistics hub.
"Although we already have agent presence in Pampanga,
we want to take part in this development," she
said, noting DHL will also continue to establish redistribution
facilities throughout the country to further strengthen
its local niche.
She added the company is also banking on the completion
of the Clark-Subic-Tarlac Expressway project in 2008.
Once approved, the Asia-Pacific hub will take about
three years to establish, Cuevas said.
Meanwhile, she said the company is investing on the
upgrade of its computer systems and other technological
infrastructure to provide clients with added-value services.
Last week, DHL relaunched its Import Express (IMP) service,
extending its availability to over 200 countries and
territories worldwide with processing time of one to
three days.
The IMP's international network will benefit the local
market by enabling companies, particularly those in
the semiconductor and consumer electronics, to import
goods at a faster pace from more countries around the
world.
Cuevas said DHL relaunched the service to emphasize
its latest capabilities, especially technological improvements.
"Speed is now critical so this is importing made
easy. We are closely working with government agencies
such as the Bureau of Customs to facilitate faster clearance
of shipments," she said.
IMP offers "clearing on air" and online booking,
among others. DHL is also replacing equipment such as
scanners and x-ray machines as part of its IT investments.
Cuevas noted that in the past three years, the company
has already invested approximately $25 million in IT
alone.
Initially launched in 1995, the IMP service will allow
DHL customers to import goods from overseas suppliers,
giving them control over the cost, speed and reliability
of their imports.
Last year, the company saw double-digit growth for the
service, largely from companies in the high tech, textile,
samples, return warranty parts and discounted goods
or components from suppliers.
DHL Express Philippines Country manager Larry Llamzon
said the improved service now only requires one invoice
and allows payments in local currency.
DHL also shoulders all Customs duties in advance on
behalf of the customer and duties are collected on delivery.
THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA)
forged ahead with its computerization program with the
recent release of the second batch of application systems
known as the Accounting and Financial Management System
Batch 2 (AFMS2) in five pilot sites.
The systems group has been developed under the agency's
computerization initiative known as Providing Reliable
Operation and Management of Ports thru Technology (PROMPT),
an information technology project undertaken by PPA
with Unisys Philippines Inc. and Economic Development
Foundation
.
Among areas already installed with the AFMS2 system
are the Port Management Offices (PMOs) North Harbor,
Batangas, Manila, Southern Luzon and the port agency's
head office.
The second batch of application systems consists of
AFMS modules focusing on accounts payable, accounts
receivable batch 2, budget management, cash management
and property management.
"The release of the system allows end-users to
gain familiarity with and to make full use of its functionality.
It also intends to identify and address critical systems
and business issues prior to the nationwide roll out,"
PPA said.
The agency added the Records Management System (RMS)
has already gained acceptance from its system owners.
RMS is a document management system which allows PPA
to electronically capture, index, store, search and
retrieve vital documents such as policy issuances and
board resolutions.
Initially launched in 2003, PROMPT aims to provide an
integrated solution to the nationwide computerization
requirements of all major ports, connecting them with
the agency's head office in Manila.
Other systems groups developed by PROMPT include the
Port Operations Management Systems (POMS) to enhance
the PPA core port operations involving cargo and vessel
information;
the Inventory and Engineering Management System (IEMS),
which will enable the PPA to properly plan, monitor
and evaluate engineering-related projects;
the Real Estate Management System (REMS), intended to
efficiently manage PPA's land and building assets for
lease; the Legal support System (LSS) to facilitate
its legal activities;
and the Executive Information System, an enabling tool
that aids PPA's top management staff managers and analysts
to better monitor performance of various functional
areas through the use of online analytical processing.
TOTAL Customs collections for the first
quarter of the year is likely to fall short off target
by 2-3%, said Bureau of Customs (BOC) commissioner Alberto
D. Lina recently.
BOC data provided in a recent press briefing showed
target collection from January to March this year at
P32.587 million, with March collections expected to
be relatively high during the quarter with 8.07% share
of the total projected collections for the year.
The still undisclosed collection figure for the first
quarter is, however, still higher compared with total
collections during the same period last year, Lina noted.
"We had a good quarter and despite this meager
difference, we are still optimistic that we will surpass
the full-year collection target," he said.
In the first two months of the year, BOC reported a
year-on-year growth of 8.6%. Total collection was P19.8
billion for the two-month period.
The Department of Finance (DoF) has increased the bureau's
collection targets for the year to P151 million from
only P119 million in the past year in view of anticipated
excise tax collections on oil imports.
Lina said current measures being undertaken by the BOC
will help boost revenue collections throughout the year,
including implementation of extended working hours at
the bureau.
All BOC employees are now required to report for work
from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm from Monday to Friday.
Enforced last March 16, the 12-straight
working hours aim to reduce delays in processes and
transactions of import and export documents and facilitate
unhampered Customs business transactions. - Maritess
R. Mesias
UPS
eyes redistribution facility in Northern Luzon
UNITED PARCEL SERVICES (UPS) said recently
it is planning to establish an additional redistribution
facility in the north in anticipation of strong volume
growth in the coming years.
Jose Eduardo Delgado, UPS Philippines vice president
and owner of Delbros Logistics, UPS' local partner,
said the company is eyeing three sites in the region:
Rosales town and Dagupan City in Pangasinan, and Tarlac
City.
The facility will be sited on a 500 to 1,000-square
meter area. Delgado said UPS wants to expand distribution
in Northern Luzon through the planned facility, considering
the proximity of its newly expanded intra-Asia air hub
in Clarkfield, Pampanga.
He added the redistribution facility will also help
decongest the Clark hub which expects a surge in volume
in the next couple of years.
The expanded intra-Asia hub already has an average sorting
capacity of 7,500 packages per hour compared to only
2,500 packages prior to expansion.
UPS has also taken into consideration the completion
of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway Project, operational
by the last quarter of 2007.
The expressway project is seen to speed up travel time
to and from Manila, thereby facilitating faster turnaround
and increase in cargo export volume.
Delgado said the redistribution facility will be a significant
component of the UPS Philippines operations with volumes
projected to continuously rise in the coming years.
The logistics firm is expecting a 30% growth in its
cargo export volume following the infusion of $1.4 million
to its intra-Asia hub in Clark Field, Pampanga.
"The new facility will serve as UPS' supply chain
management solution for growing cargo volume. Our facility
in Clark may not be able to handle all the packages
coming in and out of the hub," Delgado noted.
FEFC
member lines jack up westbound rate by $250/TEU
HIGHER costs have pushed Far Eastern
Freight Conference member lines to implement a westbound
rate increase of US$250/TEU effective April 1, 2005.
The conference cited as its reasons higher charter hire
and newbuilding vessel costs, container costs, the container
imbalance, terminal congestion, Suez Canal dues, and
feeder costs.
In a press release distributed last week, it said charter
hire costs and newbuilding vessel costs have increased
substantially. "Charter hire rates for benchmark
4,300-TEU vessels increased by 43% during 2004, and
charter vessels are extremely scarce.
This will undoubtedly affect Lines' ability to provide
'extra loaders' within the peak season, which has always
been a safety valve," said the group.
In addition, the group said container costs have also
gone up. "The increase in the purchase price of
containers increased by 32% in 2004 for 20' GPs and
by 34% for 40' Hi-Cube containers.
Continual shortage in the supply of steel makes the
ability to produce new containers difficult. Leased
containers have also seen major increases with daily
dire costs for 20' GPs having risen by 43%, and 40'
Hi-Cube containers by 48% over the same period."
The conference cited container imbalance resulting from
greater growth in the westbound trade as another reason
for the increase. In 2004, containers being shipped
back empty to Asia was 2,425,350 TEUs. This year, it
is estimated it will be 2,983,428 TEUs.
Terminal congestion both in Asia and in Europe, said
the conference, will also be a problem and "Lines
will be faced with difficult and costly decision as
to how to deal with the problem while retaining schedule
integrity."
The 3% increase in Suez Canal dues effective April 1,
2005 and higher feeder costs in Asia and Europe have
also made necessary the westbound rate increase. Rates
for 1,700-TEU vessels increased 67% in 2004 while 1,000-TEU
vessel rates rose 61%, the conference said.
Meanwhile, the Asia-Europe trade is "currently
growing at 17-18%, and has fully recovered from the
Lunar New Year dip, with all FEFC Lines currently experiencing
utilizations of 95-100%."
The outlook for the second and third quarters of 2005
is "very good, with forecast utilization in excess
of 95%."
