The Swiss Federal Office of Aviation (BAZL) has implemented a new “known consignor” concept, which finally will be effective April 1, 2009.

All Swiss shippers who are using airfreight, have been informed to apply for the new registration and certification process to obtain the new “known Shipper” status well in advance (1 year ahead). It was noted that by far not all of the relevant shippers have applied for the new status yet. Around 10'000 companies were registered according to the old regulatios but only 1'500 exporters have signed up for the new laborious and expensive certification process. The status of the remaining 8'500 exporters will be relegated to “unknown shipper” as of March 31, 2009.

The cargo of “unknown shippers” will have to be scanned by X-ray machines at all Swiss Airports (ZRH, GVA, BSL) before departing. This may cause slight delays in the transportation process and will create additional costs for the x-ray security screening process at:

CHF 95.00 or CHF 0.17/kg GW

The additional costs will be automatically charged to the Shippers, in case of “freight prepaid” and to the Consignee in case of “freight collect”.

Dear Customers,
Dear Partners,

Our new handling and trucking rates are available in our download section now.

Important remarks:

a) inland trucking rates
As a result of;
- Increasing of the performance-related Heavy Vehicle Fee (HVF) and the road charge
- Increasing personnel costs
- Investment costs for vehicles and superstructual parts
- Increasing overhead (e. g. servicing and vehicle up-keep)
- Obligatory driver education- & advanced training

our trucking rates for the year to come have been increased on average by 5%.

b) export handling rates
As part of our ongoing effort to make it easier to do business with us, we decided to change the rate structure of our export handling and clearance rates from one with multiple breakpoints to a basic/flat per kg rate for all services. The new rates are based on the average rates for all services under the old plan.

c) import handling rates
The only thing which has changed is the layout of our rates sheets, the rates remain at the same rate level as for the year of 2008.

d) Christmas Holiday Schedules for Apextrans Zurich, Geneva and Basle

22.12. / normal operation
23.12. / normal operation
24.12. / normal operation until noon time / afternoon closed
25.12. / closed for x-mas holidays
26.12. / closed for x-mas holidays
weekend closed

29.12. / normal operation (skeleton staff)
30.12. / normal operation (skeleton staff)
31.12. / normal operation until noon time / afternoon closed
01.01. / closed for New Year holidays
02.01. / closed for New Year holidays (Zurich and Geneva office only, Basle office = normal operation)
weekend / closed

Please have a look into the attached rate sheets and feel free to contact us in case there should be any upcomming questions.

We wish you and your families a merry X-mas Season and a good start into the New Year!

Since quite some time now we face considerable problems with the processing of maritime container traffic to and from the seaports in Hamburg, Rotterdam and Antwerp. A working group from members of the Swiss Freight Forwarding and Logistics Association “SPEDLOGSWISS”, Groupement Fer, SVS (Swiss Association for Shipping and Harbor Trade) and the Swiss Shipper’s Council, has analysed the situation. Their report with the title “Easter Bunnies in October?” is worth reading. You will be able to do so when opening this link.

PDF Document

Effective November 12, 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will substantially increase the range of products requiring testing and general conformity certifications. This is due to the recent enactment of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). Each manufacturer, including private labelers and importers, must issue a compliance certificate for any merchandise subject to a product safety rule, ban, regulation or standard enforced by CPSC. This is necessary whether the items are imported for consumption, warehousing, or distribution into commerce. These requirements do not only encompass children’s items; they also affect jewelry, sporting goods, fabrics, wearing apparel, refrigerators, furniture, hazardous materials, paint, child-resistant caps, ATVs, etc. If an item is exempt under any of the CPSC acts, testing and certifications are not required. In addition, any products following voluntary standards are also exempt. A list of CPSC regulated products can be found at: http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/reg1.html

An importer can create their certification based upon the manufacturer’s testing, provided that the test records are in English, the importer is a resident of the U.S., or has a resident agent. These testing records must be maintained for three years.

General conformity certificates must include the following:

‘‘(A) shall certify, based on a test of each product or upon a reasonable testing program, that such product complies with all rules, bans, standards, or regulations applicable to the product under this Act or any other Act enforced by the Commission; and
‘‘(B) shall specify each such rule, ban, standard, or regulation applicable to the product.’’

For a sample conformity certification, instructions for completing a certificate, and FAQ’s, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/elecertfaq.pdf

All conformity certificates must accompany each product or shipment and must be furnished to each retailer or distributor of the product. In addition, a copy of the certificate must be made available to CPSC and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) upon request. The certificate can be presented in either an electronic or paper format and it does not have to be signed. In the event that a certificate is not available upon request, or if a false certificate is provided, the shipment shall be refused admission into the U.S. and will be destroyed at the owner or consignee’s expense. The only exception to destruction is when the Secretary of Treasury permits export. If the expenses are not paid, a lien against the same owner or consignee will be applied to future shipments and civil penalties could be issued.

Recently, CBP and CPSC have partnered with the Importer Self-Assessment Product Safety pilot program. This program provides recognition and support to participating companies that strive to maintain a high level of product safety compliance. Also, along with the benefits provided by CBP to Importer Self-Assessment (ISA) members, CPSC identifies other benefits including front-of-the-line testing, reduction of testing and access to CPSC specific training. This program is open to all importers currently enrolled in an ISA through CBP.

In addition to general conformity certificates, children’s products will now be subject to third party testing. This requirement will be fully phased in by October 2, 2009.

The Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), Refrigerator Safety Act (RSA), Flammable Fabrics Act (FFA), Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA) and the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (Pool and Spa Safety Act) were also amended.

• For full details on the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and the changes to the Consumer CPSA, RSA, FHSA, FFA, PPPA and the Pool and Spa Safety Act, please see: http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

• More FAQ’s can be found at: http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/faq.pdf

• To find presentations outlining the General Conformity Certifications, Laboratory Certifications, and Third Party Testing for Children’s Products, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/testing.html

• Full text of CPSIA requirements can be found at: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.pdf

• For the Federal Register on the Importer Self-Assessment Product Safety Pilot, please go to: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/pdf/E8-25551.pdf

Please contact your US customs house broker for any further assistance. To determine if your products fall under the new requirements, please seek legal counsel or speak to a trade consultant.

Chinese Customs will begin enforcing a new rule on advance manifesting (Degree No. 172 of General Administration of Customs), effective 1st January 2009. This will require significant changes to the shipment processes for all cargo on vessels that load at foreign ports and are destined or transshipped at ports in China, as well as cargo loading out of ports in China. The rule will have an impact on many of our customers, as it requires that both shippers and carriers adopt disciplines and processes at both foreign ports and ports in China to ensure timely manifesting of cargo. The rule however does not affect Hong Kong, which as a Special Administration Region of China, is outside the jurisdiction of this rule.

What does this new rule mean?
• For cargo destined or transshipped at ports in China, the inbound manifest for cargo must be electronically submitted to Chinese Customs 24 hours prior to loading at foreign ports.
• For cargo loaded out of ports in China, a pre-manifest has to be electronically submitted to Chinese Customs 24 hours prior to loading and a final manifest submitted 30 minutes before loading.

How will this affect you?
• Similar to the shipments for the United States and Canada we as a forwarder have to provide the ocean carriers with the proper information allowing them to do the proper filing.
• Most likely there will be two deadlines to be watched in future for the shipments to China. The first deadline for the information to be submitted and the second one for the actual physical delivery of the container to the terminal respectively pier.

We will continue to monitor the implementation of this new rule and communicate with you on the impacts of this new regulation. Regular updates will also be made available online from our website, www.apextrans.ch

You can find further information (in Chinese) from the Chinese Customs at: http://www.customs.gov.cn.

Letter from the Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles
Last October, the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners (Board) approved a tariff that will result in substantial reduction in air pollution through the progressive ban of older, dirtier trucks calling at the Port of Los Angeles. The new tariffs at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach require by the year 2012, that drayage trucks must meet United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2007 (USEPA) heavy duty truck emissions standards to be allowed entry into terminals at either ports.

Last December, the Board continued implementation of the Clean Trucks Program (CTP) with the approval of a tariff implementing a Clean Truck Fee (CTF) to help finance the retrofit or replacement of banned trucks. In addition, the Board established a Clean Truck Fund to hold the monies collected under the CTF. The Port developed a Truck Concession Program that includes incentives to turnover dirty trucks as rapidly as possible, ensure sustainability, provide reliable truck service, and enhance efficiency and security. These concessions will be issued to Licensed Motor Carriers (LMC) that meet the criteria outlined in the concession program. Key components of the program include insurance requirements, safety and maintenance plans, parking requirements, and a transition to employees over a five-year period.

The CTP process will work as follows:

• Beginning October 1, 2008 all pre-1989 truck engines will be banned at the Port of Los Angeles. This will be verified using the VIN numbers of each truck;
• Beginning October 1, 2008 any truck entering the gate with an engine model year between 1989 and 2006, including non-compliant 2007 USEPA standard trucks, will be assessed a $35 per loaded Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) CTF;
• The fee will be collected from the Beneficial Cargo Owners (BCO) by the terminal operators;
• The BCO will secure credit, acknowledge cargo ownership for both local and intermodal cargo and be invoiced via an existing web system;
• CTF will NOT be assessed on privately funded 2007 model year diesel trucks and privately or Port-funded 2007 model year Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) trucks;
• 2007 model year diesel trucks funded by Port grants or other public funding will be assessed the CTF of $35 per TEU; and
• Grants are available to the LMC to assist in the purchase of USEPA compliant 2007 diesel and alternative fuel trucks. The Port will also assist in low cost credit opportunities for the remaining balance;

We recognize that some confusion may exist due to pending litigation by the American Trucking Association. This litigation affects the Concession Program only. It does not affect the truck ban or CTF. As such the ban and fee will become effective on October 1, 2008, regardless of the status of this litigation. On this date all pre-1989 trucks will be banned from the Port and BCO's that do not use USEPA 2007 compliant alternate fuel or privately funded diesel vehicles will be assessed a fee of $35 per TEU for cargo that moves through the port.

The Port is committed to reducing emissions. Removing polluting trucks from the supply chain is a key element in achieving this goal. We are committed to implementing the CTP on October 1, 2008, and look forward to your support in our efforts to dramatically reduce Port related truck emissions.

In early September, the Port of Los Angeles will be conducting a web seminar to discuss the CTP in further detail and answer any questions. We will communicate those dates and times once they have been scheduled.

In the meantime, if you have further questions or would like additional information, please contact the Marketing Division at (310)732-3840 or visit our website at www.portoflosangeles.org.


This CTP will impact every customer who exports or imports containerized cargo through the Ports, regardless of whether the shipment is moving on a local west coast bill of lading or an intermodal bill of lading to/from other inland locations.

Customers will be impacted in three different ways.

1. A Clean Truck Fee of $35 per TEU will be assessed by the Ports on all containerized shipments entering or leaving a marine terminal gate via a drayage truck unless the truck used has a 2007 or later model diesel engine or is LNG powered (so-called clean trucks), and the clean oil-powered truck has not been funded by the Ports.
2. Beneficial Cargo Owners (directly or through their representatives such as forwarders or brokers) are required to pay the Clean Truck Fee. In order to do this, customers must register with PortCheck (a new organization being set-up by the marine terminal operators to collect the fee on behalf of the Ports) and establish a method of payment.
3. Once the registration is completed, Beneficial Cargo Owners or their representatives will be required to use a soon-to-be-launched PortCheck web site to 'claim' each container they move through the Ports. This will ensure that the marine terminal operator allows each container to be received or delivered through the terminal gate, and eliminate the risk that the container incurs any unintended demurrage or storage charges.

There are three web sites where customers can obtain additional information about the Clean Trucks Program and the Clean Truck Fee.

Clean Air Action Plan http://www.cleanairactionplan.org/

Port of Los Angeles http://www.portoflosangeles.org/

Port of Long Beach http://www.polb.com/

Effective October 15th the requirement for high security seals in accordance with ISO/PAS 17712 standard, so far only required by C-TPAT (Customs – Trade Partnership Against Terrorism), becomes US federal law for all inbound shipments (CBP Dec. 08-30). For the ISO Standard has only been formally filed several years ago and while previously it was often only refered to “High Security Seals” or “Bolt Seals”, we recommend all customers to verify that the seals used are based on ISO/PAS 1772 Standard.

With the deregulation directive of the European Union (liner conference exemption in EC Regulation 4056/86) all conference agreements will cease as of October 1st, 2008.

As of October 1st, 2008 each carrier is implementing an independent surcharge structure. The carriers have announced to base their new surcharges on actual costs. Most carriers will publish their surcharges on the internet.

In line with the deregulation each carrier is also introducing independent terminal handling and security charges for European terminals, also effective October 1st, 2008, for all trade lanes and ends the referral to previous conference tariffs.

We as forwarder and you as customer face a challenging period of transitions and it will be become difficult to keep the overview over all the new individual tariffs.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate in contacting us.

Due to the constanly rinsing fuel prices the inland fuel surcharges will be adjusted to 9% eff. July 1st 2008.

We organised, end of April, for our customers an airport visit in Zurich (maximum 20 Persons). As you can see on attached photos, this small tour was very interesting and highly appreciated by the participants.

In case you missed this event, we will probably organise a new one end of 2008 or beginning of 2009. If you are interested, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Hoefferlin.

Photo Gallery

Dear Customers and Partners,

pursuant to the overland traffic agreements between Switzerland and the EU, the next level of HVF increases will begin on January 1, 2008. The HVF is applicable for the overall truck traffic in Switzerland. Affected are trucks registered in Switzerland or abroad with a total weight of more than 3.5 tons. The HVF will be levied per kilometer traveled on Swiss territory independent of whether the vehicle is loaded, partially loaded or empty. The fee is calculated on the basis of the total weight of the vehicle, the kilometers traveled as well as according to the three emission categories for truck motors. The less emission created by a vehicle underway, the lower the tariff. In short, nothing has changed basically in the fee introduced since 2001, there is however a higher fee rate as from 2008.

The increase in the HVF fee as per 2008 will have the result that the freight costs within Switzerland will very strongly increase as per 1/1/2008. The actual HVF fee is increased by 20% to 95%. Domestic freight costs will increase by 6-10%.

The basic considerations for the calculation principles (empty run portions, capacity factors, etc.) remain unchanged.

We did not want to fail to inform you already now about the adjustments of the HVF as per 2008 and their consequences so that you could take this into consideration in your planning. Please also find attached the new trucking rates eff. 01.01.2008.

We thank you for your understanding for the above-described implementation and are of course available at any time to give you additional information.