Page 9 - SBrewing(Jan_Feb2022)

Page 9
What’s happening to our coffee prices?
Another common fee is called detention. If
the warehouse delivers an empty
container back to the terminal later than
an allotted time window (often six to nine
days), we incur a detention charge.
3) Handling fees
Over the last year, the ports & the
warehouses have increased their handling
storage fees. How do they explain this?
They’re paying overtime, to try and
address the congestion. They also have to
pay more to attract new employees and
offer better benefits packages. Unloading
containers is difficult work — it’s physically
tough, with many challenges.
Consider, too, that coffee in Grain Pro and
comparable materials can’t be hooked
and moved quickly. Teams are needed to
move these coffees.
At the warehouses, people are deciding to
find other types of work.
4) Transport fees
Transport companies are struggling to find
and keep workers, as well as with the
frustrations of the situation, and to cope
they’ve been raising their prices.
The situation is stressful around the all
parts of the UK, where the amount of
freight is up and the number of drivers is
down.
www.beveragestandardsassociation.co.uk
JANUARY / FEBRUARY . 2022 | VOL.23
here just aren’t enough truckers in the UK
right now. One company that we’ve known
for years, a family-owned haulage
company now run by the next generation,
just let us know that they’re selling the
business. They said it’s too hard to keep
up right now, between the prices, the
difficulties at the ports, finding and
keeping drivers. It’s too much.
Why is it so hard to find workers?
I’m hearing that people are afraid to go
back to work. They’re also finding jobs that
are easier, especially the drivers. The ports
are so congested — they don’t want to go
wait for days for a container to become
available and risk leaving empty-handed,
in which case they don’t make money.”
In summary
The current situation is a combination of
all of this and more. Customs and
damages are additional rabbit holes, and
the C market is also near 10-year-highs.
This is a nationwide problem and will
continue to be an issue this year. This is
how it’s going to be — not just with coffee
but with everything in our lives.
InterAmerica Coffee London