May 5, 2008

Container shortage could slow US beef exports
 

A shortage of shipping containers in the US are causing lost export sales, leading to agricultural groups requesting government agencies to investigate the problem.
 

The Agricultural Transportation Coalition (ATC) this week held a meeting in regards to the problem and it was attended by about 70 agricultural industry representatives and officials at the International Trade Commission.

ATC is also in contact with the Federal Maritime Commission and private ocean carriers in order to improve the situation, said Peter Friedmann, executive of ATC.

An official with the US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) said the estimated number of containers required to ship beef to South Korea, a recently reopened market, is about 800 to 1,000.

The weak US dollar has also played a role in the container shortage; it has increased exports but decreased imports, meaning that more containers are leaving than coming in.

Also, the US economy slowdown has made the Asia-Europe route more profitable, while both intra-Asia trade and South American-Asian trade have increased, leading to some shipping companies to relocate their infrastructure and capacity from US ports to these markets.

Surging fuel prices are also pushing up the price of moving containers inland, which sometimes increase meat export shipping costs by more than 50 percent in the past two to three quarters.

Congressional hearings on the issue are being considered, and ATC is currently also planning an exporter roundtable discussion at its annual meeting in June.