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The Panama Canal revolutionized shipping and world commerce over a 100 years ago. But in 2021, the bicoastal country of Panama is expanding its strategic location by becoming a regional logistics hub. Because it has plenty of competitive advantages for international corporations, it stands apart from other ports in Latin America.
Today, the goals for JAS Panama are clear: to develop its hub-related services in the Central, South American, and Caribbean regions as well as to exponentially grow operations by 2024. This will lead the way to increase the JAS presence in the near future.
The actions JAS Panama has taken over the last six years have been key in getting operations on the right path. JAS Panama has located a better and bigger warehouse at the Colón Free Zone on the Atlantic coast, attracting global accounts to set up their regional distribution hub. This is the case with companies like Ricoh, one of JAS Panama's top local clients. JAS is expanding its Panama cargo consolidation services as well, broadening the reach within the area, taking advantage of the reduced transit times for regional distribution, either from Europe or Asia.
Over 80 major shipping lines connect Panama with all regional ports. The ports of Atlantic (4,454,902 TEU), and the Pacific (3,161,657 TEU), just an hour apart by land, are the top 2 most active port clusters in LATAM. Using Colón as the JAS Panama hub, the average transit times for inbound and outbound ocean freight cargo improve considerably which allows companies to experience a faster time to market. Panama City’s Tocumen Airport is also the best connected in the region, covering over 100 destinations and 132,000 annual flights.
Moving cargo through Panama’s Free Zone is duty-free for all imports and exports, with the added advantage that income tax is greatly reduced via government incentives. This has led many multinational companies to establish their regional headquarters in Panama, which in turn has created a positive impact for local shipping and logistics industries.
Colón is the second biggest free zone in the world after Hong Kong and its market share continues to grow at a steady pace. A few years ago, the Panama Canal expansion widened its route to accommodate post Panamax vessels. This has provided new avenues for global commerce.
Following the JAS industry support philosophy, regional clients include companies from varied industries such as telecommunications, computer technology, business solutions, manufacturing, and food & beverage. JAS has also been able to grow within the e-commerce market, putting the company on the map and providing experience that will surely benefit JAS' global operations.
There is a great deal to say about Panama, a “hub of hubs”, as some experts call it, and all its benefits for JAS Worldwide and our ever-growing family of clients.
JAS Brazil is pleased to welcome Alessandra Klayn as Supervisor of the Rio de Janeiro Branch. Klayn brings more than ten years of experience in the freight forwarding industry, overseeing teams in both commercial and operational sectors.
The Rio de Janeiro branch has teams with specific expertise in the various verticals they serve in, assuring best-in-class support. JAS Rio de Janeiro also has unique experience in both the Pharma and Health Care and the Oil & Gas segments.
With the addition of Klayn the JAS team will continue to provide unmatched quality while helping customers reach their goals.
With ocean freight space at a premium, less-than-container-load (LCL) cargo makes sense now more than ever. We continue to experience never before seen levels of demand while facing a reduced availability of space onboard ships, severe congestion in ports, and a shortage of empty containers. This unprecedented environment demands the effectiveness of LCL to keep your supply chain moving.
LCL shipping, with its numerous moving parts and complex processes, can seem overwhelming and not worthwhile. However, JAS has a global network of dedicated LCL specialists who can provide you with a complete understanding of the process and peace of mind throughout.
Choosing JAS means choosing:
JAS LCL experts across the globe bring all these pieces together to provide best-of-class service combined with local knowledge and personal service. Your LCL cargo will travel as safely and reliably as your full-container load (FCL) cargo while still providing economies of scale, and the cost benefits of FCL shipments.
For more information about our LCL services, reach out to your local JAS office or visit our global LCL schedules.
There is no such thing as mission impossible for JAS Brazil. Recently tasked with moving 105 tons of raw materials to Brazil on a tight deadline, the team faced several obstacles to completing their task.
One of the most pressing issues involved a backlog in Miami for products shipping to Latin American ports. Market overload prevents cargo and carriers from departing swiftly. They must wait their turn for clearance. The JAS Air Product division immediately went to the drawing board to design a solution for this cargo conundrum. Part of the proposed resolution included reducing the 105 tons of raw material into smaller lots. The team set aside thirty tons of allocated capacity to get the product moving for the production line.
Problem solved? Not so fast. Once the charter solutions came in, the JAS Brazil team learned there were not even a handful of options available. They had focused on two 767 aircraft to move the main portion of the freight to Brazil. During the booking process, the team discovered one of the aircraft no longer was available due to crew scheduling issues. The new problem facing the team: figuring out how to move 50 tons of payload with only one 767 at their disposal.
With the delivery schedule in jeopardy, the team again reached out to other carriers. They secured a 747 as a viable option. The problem they now faced was the 747 would not be available until two days after the original delivery deadline. It still was a better option than waiting for the second 767 in their original plan, which would not arrive until more than a week after the deadline.
JAS Brazil’s team jumped into action with a round of late-evening communications to obtain the green light from the customer to use the 747. By early morning, they had reached an agreement with the customer and set the gears in motion. Trucks began rolling from the pickup location in Oklahoma to Miami. Using the power of their commercial capacity, combined with the charter solution, JAS Brazil kept their customer’s production line running.
The JAS teams in Charleston and Miami, in conjunction with the JAS Air Product Division, handled a very challenging and time-constricted customer request successfully.
This month, JAS Worldwide shines a light on JAS Seattle. As the home of the first USA corporate location, JAS Seattle holds a special place in JAS timeline. It was the location for a lot of “firsts” for the JAS USA family.
The JAS Seattle team previously oversaw the Anchorage, AK operating branch until 1996. It also was where JAS’ Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) license resided and where the first Director of Ocean Services was based.
Located in Kent, Washington, JAS Seattle is strategically placed just east of the airport and halfway between the ports of Seattle and Tacoma. It includes a 30,000 square foot fully racked warehouse. Its location and on-site storage capacity allow the JAS Seattle team the opportunity to work with a diverse cargo base. Among the products transported:
The JAS Seattle staff are experts at handling detailed export projects. Currently, they are working in partnership with an industry leader in cooling systems slated for installation in a facility currently under construction in Ireland. The flawless execution of this project has supported JAS Seattle in winning the bid for another facility that soon begins construction in Singapore. It is slated for a two-year construction timeframe and consists of approximately 1,200-gauge flat racks.
“Seattle Branch Manager Margaret Nieuwhof’s expertise and in-depth knowledge of the local Seattle market and surrounding areas has allowed JAS to capitalize on many excellent opportunities,” said JAS CEO Eugenio Fumo. “She is celebrating her 15th year with JAS and is responsible for growing and leading the Seattle team. A strong and commercially driven branch manager, much of JAS’s growth is attributed to her direct selling approach and awareness of the Seattle market.” Thanks to Margaret, Eugenio said the Seattle team is known for its innovation. The team takes advantage of many transloading opportunities to avoid the rail delays plaguing the Western United States and to expedite customers’ urgent shipments.
Operations Manager Stephanie Jester is another JAS veteran. She began her career with JAS Dallas in 2010, transferring to Seattle in 2017. “She is an employee who continues to make the difference, reflected by her receiving the Circle of Excellence Award for 2020. Stephanie is a true leader who displays daily an admirable level of commitment through her work ethic,” Eugenio said.
Today, JAS Seattle is a major gateway to many markets. One of JAS’ future goals is launching DCC boxes from the APAC region – with the expectation this additional service will provide JAS USA with a two-pronged approach into the US – to avoid congestion in the California ports. This new approach also will allow for streamlined services through the Pacific Northwest and Canada, producing a focused product for customers with unique requirements. Additionally, it will become extremely valuable in supporting the advancements and developments taking place within many of JAS Worldwide’s verticals, including Automotive.
“JAS Seattle’s team is expanding with the addition of our Tigers colleagues, who already have a rather impressive setup in Tacoma,” said Eugenio. “I look forward to learning more about Tigers and discovering how we can expand our presence in the Seattle market.”
Congratulations JAS Seattle. Our dedicated people in Seattle make the difference!
When a client needed to ship a luxury vehicle from Belgium to Japan while facing challenges due to COVID restrictions, they knew they could turn to JAS to get the job done while still receiving best-in-class service.
The client, who is located in the UK, needed to ship a valuable luxury car from Belgium to Japan. Under normal circumstances, the client would be there in person to oversee the loading and collection of the vehicle. However, COVID restrictions limited their ability to travel since Belgium recognizes the UK as a high-risk country for COVID. Therefore, the customer asked our JAS team to step in for them at the collection and delivery of the car.
The first step was planning so the customer knew the names of the JAS representatives in Belgium who would be there that weekend to collect the car from the car shop. This allowed the car shop to know who would be collecting the car for transport to prevent unauthorized trucks from collecting the vehicle on behalf of the buyer and stealing the car.
The weekend the shipment occurred, members of the JAS Belgium team went to the actual loading site to check the car's vehicle identification number (VIN) and send the client pictures of the luxury car. In addition, as per the customer's request, they made sure the proper car cover was on the vehicle, ensuring the car would not be scratched or damaged during transport. JAS team members kept the client informed throughout the process as they followed the vehicle's loading onto the plane.
This challenge demonstrates the importance of the collaboration and communication between JAS teams and the client to ensure best-in-class service despite the challenging situation posed by COVID restrictions. Congratulations to our team members on another successful delivery!
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As the worldwide COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, Namibia is facing increasing challenges. As a result, the JAS Berlin office arranged air shipments of urgently needed medical equipment and supplies such as medical ventilators, masks, and PCR tests to be delivered to Namibia. The urgent air freight deliveries of 60 Colli (5,336 Kgs) were coordinated for uplift by Germany's Michael Hommens/JAS Forwarding Berlin in partnership with the client.
JAS has already coordinated five successful shipments from the Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in Germany to the local airport. An additional shipment of medical supplies occurred Week 31 (August 2-8, 2021) for arrival at another local airport. Furthermore, the team is working with the client to coordinate another delivery of a 1x40' container of goods from Germany to Namibia to provide additional support for the ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts.
At JAS, we know that our people make a difference and are proud of the hard work and dedication of the Berlin team, who helped make this next-day delivery successfully!
From city centers to rugged mountaintops in the Vancouver wilderness, there is no transport job too complicated for JAS Canada’s team to achieve. Case in point: the recent delivery of an RFS antenna shipped from France to a remote location near Williams Lake, British Columbia. The antenna was added to an existing communications tower to help boost telecommunication services in this remote B.C. town.
Anna Isaj, from the JAS Forwarding Worldwide Insurance and Claims department, said this one was of the most challenging requests for transport she has handled for this client in her 10 years of working with them. What made the process so difficult was securing a flat rack container, OOG Dept. approval, and shipping container to move the antenna from its manufacturer in France to its destination in Williams Lake, B.C.
“The current export market conditions lead to several weeks’ waiting time between the booking confirmation and the estimated time of departure,” said Isaj. “A shortage of equipment and congestion at the ports have made every day very challenging for the team.”
The port at Le Havre, France, where the antenna was scheduled to depart from, continues to experience backlogs due to productivity-related issues. Some container lines are bypassing this key French port to avoid the hassle, which is making it difficult for logistics managers to ship products on tight deadlines. Working around these issues requires creativity and connections to top carriers. JAS Canada’s team was up for the challenge.
Isaj and her team received the dimensions of the antenna from their client. It weighed 1,750kg, dims, with dimensions of 500x240x282cm. They determined the safest way to transport the aerial transmitter from the factory in France to the shipping port was using a combination of a step-deck trailer outfitted with a flat rack container. Once the container arrived at the port, it could be loaded directly onto the ocean freighter.
The JAS France team assisted with securing the transport and shipping container for the move. It took their team six weeks to locate and procure a flat rack container. With shipping ports still backed up from the height of the global pandemic, shippers often must wait for the shipping containers needed.
The team approached all the ocean lines in its pursuit to get the antenna shipped by the deadline. All but one responded they had no bookings available due to space and equipment constraints. One ocean line said it could accommodate shipping but could not guarantee arrival at the Port of Vancouver by the required time of arrival.
Identifying the delay and providing a new estimated time of departure to the client was the next crucial step in the process. Since the delay in receiving the antenna did not cause the telecom’s customers to be without service, the client agreed to the new timeline. “As long as the shipment was delivered in good order, the delay was accepted by the customer,” said Isaj.
Once aboard the vessel, it took 46 days transit time for the antenna to arrive at the Port of Vancouver from the port at Le Havre, France.
Upon arrival at the Port of Vancouver, the shipment required clearance from customs. Following approval from Canadian Customs, the oversize microwave antenna was unloaded from the flat rack container. JAS Canada arranged the delivery to the remote location in Williams Lake on a step-deck trailer. The JAS Canada team also secured a crane that was required to unload the antenna from the step-deck trailer. Getting the crane to the remote location was another challenge for her team, Isaj said.
“This was quite challenging; however, it was successfully done by our team. The amount of endless effort put forth by both the JAS France and JAS Canada teams to complete the door-to-door delivery of this oversize shipment was incredible.”
JAS Brazil is pleased to announce Renata Yamada has been named as the new Business Implementation Manager.
Yamada has extensive qualifications and professional experience with over 20 years of experience in foreign trade (import/export - air, sea, and road) and logistics (national and international transport). She has held leadership positions in past roles as the implementation manager. In this role she worked to advise teams on the best use of project management disciplines and approaches as they launched new projects.
In her new position as Implementation Manager, she will assess business opportunities and markets, work with customers to create tailor-made solutions, studying how necessary and the best solution for each profile and case. Yamada will be working as a part of the JAS São Paulo team under the direction of Elder Apolinário.
JAS Chile believes that team building is key to having a strong company culture as it helps to encourage communication and increase collaboration across teams. COVID restrictions have limited JAS Chile’s opportunities to gather in person. This August JAS Chile had the opportunity to reconnect and get to know some of our new team members through a virtual team building event.
Rodrigo Bustos, Managing Director of JAS Chile, said of the event, “The online activities gave JAS Chile the opportunity to have fun and engage as a team while boosting morale among team members.”
JAS Chile is proud to have served the local market more than 30 years, providing a reliable service with a focus on customer experience.
As the consumer market recovers in 2021, logistics services and supply chain management requirements have become increasingly challenging and cover more than just transportation and warehousing. JAS Hong Kong has always thought one step ahead for its customers. Therefore, in Q2 2021, the JAS Hong Kong logistics team successfully launched a product assembly program for a world-leading gaming accessories provider.
The partnership between JAS Hong Kong and the customer began in 2012. Over the last nine years the project has increased more than threefold. The customer's success is due not only to the exponential growth of the gaming market but also its continuous launch of new products and promotional combo/bundle sets. Each bundle consists of 3 or 4 products, which include items such as a gaming keyboard, mouse, and headset. The latest launch was in the summer of 2021 and entered the US market through megastores or e-Commerce platforms. JAS Hong Kong exclusively handled the entire assembly process including material sourcing and procurement, system support, assembly-line operation, and space and human resources management.
The bundle set program was carried out over the course of 3 months in 2021. During this period, over 40 additional workers per day were deployed for a total of 36 working days. Over 50,000 sets were constructed and shipped to the United States in 23 containers (40'HQ) under the supervision of the JAS team.
Of the project Jason Tse, Logistics Manager for JAS Hong Kong, said “The hassle-free solution designed by the JAS team enabled the customer to focus its resources on product design, sales, and marketing knowing JAS would make the rest of the process worry free.”
JAS continually provides service that meets and exceeds every industry standard as well as our customers’ expectations. JAS is confident that there are more successful partnerships ahead.
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