The content of this article is only a general record of the vague process of the meeting, not as an investment basis, and the information related to statistical data is for reference only.Recently, industry giants have frequently signed large orders for overseas energy storage, and the overseas energy storage market is in full swing. What are the difficulties in the practical operation of sea transportation? How to avoid pitfalls? What are the future freight trends? How to choose between freight forwarder and ship owner? In order to answer the above questions, we invite youZheng Jianfeng, general manager of Huien International LogisticsFor sharing and discussion, the following is a transcript of the Q&A session.
[Core viewpoint].
Distinguish between general cargo and dangerous goods standards: The capacity of a single lithium battery is less than 100wh, and the capacity of a single battery cell is less than 20wh, which is regarded as general cargo, otherwise it is regarded as dangerous goods, and dangerous goods need to be transported by full cargo aircraft.
Timeliness: International air freight is generally 7 days, fluctuating according to the off-peak season. It takes about 20-30 days to ship to Europe and the United States, and due to the Red Sea incident, the time to go to Europe has increased by more than 10 days.
The main differences between ports are as follows:: Whether it is necessary to enter the dangerous warehouse, do maritime supervision, and apply for the dangerous package certificate. East China ports such as Shanghai require these processes, while Shenzhen does not.
Freight forwarding is a complement to shipowners, not a competitive relationship。Lithium batteries are commodities with special requirements for shipowners, and the shipowner's feedback is slow, and there is no customs clearance and delivery, and there is no LCL. In addition, freight forwarders can choose shipowners who are more advantageous and more in line with their needs according to customer needs.
[Interview Record].
q：Could you briefly introduce the basic situation of Huien Logistics?
Huien Logistics is committed to providing logistics solutions for the export of new energy products and the Belt and Road Initiative. Founded in 2011, the company has a turnover of 700 million yuan and a value of 40 billion yuan in 23 years, which are basically lithium battery products related to new energy. The company has served more than 2,000 customers, with branches in Hong Kong and the United States, and services in more than 100 countries around the world. Over the past 13 years, it has been growing with the lithium battery industry. From the beginning of lead-acid batteries, nickel-metal hydride nickel-chromium batteries, polymer lithium batteries, to power banks, power batteries, energy storage, is a professional new energy to provide FCL, bulk, air express, DAP, DDU, DDP and other integrated logistics companies, to provide customers with valuable logistics solutions.
q：What are the transportation channels for energy storage products exported to different countries or regions, as well as their respective advantages and disadvantages, and timeliness?
According to the division of dangerous goods and general goods:
Lithium batteries are also divided into dangerous goods and non-dangerous goods, according to the rules of international civil aviation and IMDG, a single lithium battery capacity is less than 100wh, and a single cell is less than 20wh, which is regarded as general cargo. At present, the main restrictions are on battery packs larger than 100Wh and cells larger than 20Wh. FCL, LCL, air and express can all be transported by sea. In the international transportation rules, different modes of transportation, different transportation restrictions. For example, international air transport and express delivery are based on airplanes, and international civil aviation regulations stipulate that passenger and cargo planes cannot be loaded with dangerous goods, and can only be transported by full cargo planes.
By weight:
For today's main energy storage transportation, there are currently the following operation modes:
1) Less than 35kg: international express, air freight, sea freight, LCL can be operated.
2) More than 35kg: international air freight, take off from Hong Kong airport, FCL by sea, LCL can be operated.
3) Industrial and commercial energy storage: international air transportation, taking off from HK airport, there are currently a single energy storage with a single weight of 1200kg, FCL by sea, LCL can be operated.
4) SOC energy storage cabinet: SOC (self-provided cabinet), COC (container), OOG (special cabinet), BBK (flat box split hoisting). If it is over 12m, over 4m in height, and has a cabinet weight of more than 50t, it can be transported by BBK (flat box split hoisting).
Respective advantages for different forms of express delivery:
International express: fast timeliness, high cost, mainly applicable: the sample delivery stage of customers in the early stage.
International air freight: fast timeliness, relatively higher cost than express delivery, mainly applicable: urgently needed small batch orders, some express delivery does not serve the country, but also often take air freight.
International shipping LCL: slow timeliness, high freight, relatively reliable security, mainly applicable to: larger quantities of orders, customers who are not very anxious about the timeliness.
International shipping FCL: slow timeliness, the most cost-effective freight price, safe and reliable, mainly applicable to: project goods, large quantities of orders.
Timeliness:
Generally, international express delivery to Europe and the United States is 5-7 working days, air freight is also about 7 working days, the specific timeliness should be based on the peak season and off-season. In the peak season (April, October and November after the Spring Festival), there will be more goods in the warehouse, and there will be a few more working days. It takes about 20-30 days to ship to European and American ports, and due to the Red Sea incident, it is more than ten days slower than usual to go to Europe.
q：What kind of dangerous goods are defined as lithium batteries, household storage, and large storage products in international transportation? What is the corresponding UN code of the United Nations?
In international transport, they are defined as Dangerous Goods Class 9 (IMO 9). The UN code for lithium batteries and household storage is UN3480, and the UN code for large storage (containerized energy storage system) is UN3536.
q：Are there regional differences in the different forms of product transportation, and the reasons for such differences (policies, regulations, certifications, supervision)? What are the main shipping ports for energy storage products? What are the operational differences between different ports? Which port is the most convenient for shipping? What other factors influence port selection?
There are large regional differences. It is mainly affected by local policies, regulations, certifications, regulations, and customs** on the policy and the proficiency of the product. When choosing a port, you should pay attention to (1) the difficulty of the requirements according to different ports; (2) The distance between the port and the customer's factory; (3) The difference between ports and ports is selected.
The main shipping ports of lithium battery energy storage are Shanghai, Shenzhen, Ningbo, Guangzhou, Guangxi and Xiamen. Shanghai and Shenzhen have the largest shipments.
The main differences between ports are as follows:Whether it is necessary to enter the dangerous warehouse, handle the dangerous package certificate, and the certification body of battery information. For example, Shanghai and Ningbo ship in these ports in East China, which need to do maritime supervision, enter the dangerous warehouse, and handle the virtual dangerous package certificate, and the battery information is only recognized by the appraisal institutions in the white list, such as Shanghai Institute of Chemical Industry. Shenzhen, on the other hand, is relatively simple and has no mandatory requirements.
q：Will Shanghai's dangerous package certificate be popularized in ports across the country in the future?
Judging from past experience, Shanghai will not follow Shenzhen.
q：What is the cost of money and time for the manufacturer? Do you have any customer orders that are unwilling to be sent from Shanghai to change ports?
According to the volume of goods, small batch samples can be shipped from Shenzhen, larger batch orders, customers are still willing to ship goods from East China, and goods from South China from South China. It generally takes 1-2 weeks for the same model of the virtual dangerous package certificate to be filed for the first time, and the time cost is high.
【q&a】
q：In the process of practical operation, the export of lithium batteries and energy storage products needs to go through links and steps? What shipping documents do product manufacturers usually need to prepare in advance? How far in advance do I need to prepare?
Main experience links: documents (2-3 days), booking, loading, export declaration, maritime declaration, stowage, loading, sailing, arrival, destination customs clearance, tax payment, delivery.
Manufacturers mainly need to prepare the product certification information in the early stage, generally: MSDS UN383 Test summary Air and sea transportation appraisal report Dangerous package certificate (performance sheet and use sheet), if these documents are complete, generally prepared 2 weeks in advance.
q：What are the difficulties, mistakes or pitfalls in the actual operation?
The main difficulties:
The battery information is incomplete, and the identified model is inconsistent with the actual shipped model.
There is a big difference between the gross weight and size of the booking and the gross weight and size of the actual shipment.
The product packaging does not meet the shipping requirements.
Places that are prone to mistakes or pitfalls:
The customer is not familiar with the HS code of the product, resulting in overpayment of tariffs in the destination country. Industrial and commercial energy storage cabinet is a new product, there is no corresponding HS code, according to what HS code to declare and customs clearance at the port of destination**How to understand this product and communicate with the customs to explain, this is very important. Huien has a case of declaring according to other HS codes and obtaining the recognition of the customs, saving customers hundreds of millions of yuan in tariffs.
It is easy to be attracted by low prices. In today's developed network, the best are more transparent, and the final competition is service and professionalism. Just like the power bank, ** lower than the market, it must be a second-hand battery cell or insufficient power. At present, we are the head listed company of dangerous goods, with a turnover of more than 10 billion yuan a year, a net profit of more than 3-4 billion, and a net profit margin of 3-4%.
In the early stage of the freight forwarding qualifications, strength did not do an investigation, in the process of shipping booking, freight forwarders changed hands layer by layer, there was a problem freight forwarders are not able to bear the responsibility, and even some freight forwarders run away. In 2023, the entire freight forwarding industry will be sluggish, and the head cross-border logistics companies of many routes have closed down.
q：What are the main components of different types of transportation costs? Which parts of it are more volatile and which are relatively stable?
International express, international air freight is mainly composed of: air freight courier fee and DG fee. Among them, the DG fee does not fluctuate, and the air freight is mainly affected by the market ** and the seasonal fluctuations, with a rough range of 10 yuan kg.
International shipping is mainly composed of: pre-port costs and sea freight. Sea freight is mainly affected by the capacity of the route, the market volume, international politics, etc. In recent years, the regional political impact has been the greatest, and the epidemic has caused the freight to rise from more than 1k US dollars to more than 2w US dollars, and the Red Sea incident has caused the freight at that time to quadruple.
q：Shenzhen has introduced a policy to support export enterprises to sign long-term agreements directly with shipping companies, and enterprises are faced with the choice of whether to directly find a shipowner or a freight forwarder, what do you think?
Freight forwarding is a complement to shipowners, not a competitive relationship。If it is a general cargo, the operation is simple, fixed and process-oriented, and the communication with the shipowner is simple. However, lithium batteries are products with special requirements, and the communication requirements with the shipowner are very complicated, and the shipowner is large and the feedback is very slow. At present, we have received an inquiry for energy storage cabinets, the first terms are DDU and DDP, many shipowners only do port-to-port, not customs clearance and delivery business, so freight forwarders and shipowners are complementary to each other. Now there are more than 80 shipping companies in the world, each shipping company has different advantageous routes, freight forwarders can integrate the advantages between different shipping companies, and choose a cost-effective solution to customers.
q：Is there a fixed volume of cargo transportation per year that is more suitable for finding a ship owner? How big is looking for a shipowner, how big is looking for a freight forwarder?
If there is a fixed volume of cargo and a fixed port, it is definitely better to sign the shipowner. The disadvantage is that if the signed shipping company has a spare flight or other abnormalities, it can only wait passively. And freight forwarders are relatively flexibleHuien Logistics has signed 6 companies to be available in the event of an abnormality from a shipowner. In addition, shipowners do not have LCL services, so they can only do LCL through freight forwarders.
q：A review of the fluctuation of transportation costs by route in 23 years? What is the expected trend of 24-25 years of energy storage product transportation costs?
Basically similar to 23 years, international shipping mainly from low to high. The low is due to lower demand and some countries are still destocking. The high is due to the impact of the Red Sea crisis, which cannot be ended in the short term.
The prospect of energy storage is still very large. China is at the top of the global ** chain as lithium batteries, new energy vehicles, and photovoltaics. The U.S. interest rate hike is nearing the end, artificial intelligence has become a future trend, and artificial intelligence drives the demand for computing power, and behind computing power is electricity. As a useful supplement to wind and solar power, energy storage has great prospects, and it will develop better and better, and the transportation cost will be lower and lower.