EV Cargo Global Forwarding, delivered by Allport Cargo Services (ACS), says current shipping challenges imposed by COVID-19 could lead to congestion at ports as it looks to deliver storage solutions for customers.
Containers shipped by sea from Asia usually have a four-week transit time, however, many retailers have cancelled factory purchase orders destined for UK and European ports amid the retail crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Affected shipping containers already on the water and arriving into ports within the next few weeks will require storage and ACS has been handling significant requests for in-container storage and also emptying and warehousing of product.
The company says there is a real concern in the industry that the in-bound movement of essential supplies may be compromised if ports become congested by unwanted containers of stock.
With the retail sector significantly impacted by the current situation, ACS has deployed significant assets into the increased demand for grocery products and time-critical medical supplies. A large proportion of its domestic distribution fleet is now assisting with retail and grocery primary transport, while ACS air freight is handling a huge upsurge in medical supplies from around the world, most notably a wide range of PPE for frontline key workers.
The company has also directed warehousing resources across other EV Cargo divisions and is assisting with picking fresh food orders for EV Cargo Logistics in the grocery sector.
Clyde Buntrock, chief executive of EV Cargo Global Forwarding and ACS, said: “Working across a diverse range of logistics sectors, we’ve been fielding many requests for shipping container storage and also emptying and warehousing product from containers. A key concern for customers is that, without storage solutions releasing pressure, their live supply chain orders in transit will hit the brick wall of closed or poorly manned warehouses and of course shuttered stores.
“As part of EV Cargo, there is a resilience through diversity of industry sectors, customer offering and the ability to share resources across the wider company. Investment in our air freight infrastructure is providing capacity in this urgent time of need – the roller bed system at our Heathrow facility allows us to unpack an entire 747 freighter equivalent load in one go, fast-tracking dispatch of goods.”
