Tariffs for sea freight and air cargo have increased, while the cost of international road haulage has stabilized, but there may be queues at the key automobile checkpoints, Viktor Shevchenko, the co-owner of Zammler logistics group, has told Interfax-Ukraine. “Compared to the beginning of the year, now due to coronavirus [COVID-19] epidemic spread, tariffs for sea freight have risen by an average of $150-200 per TEU. A jump in prices occurred in March, as China began to recover production activity, demand for cargo departures increased, there was a shortage of places, respectively, the cost increased,” he said.
According to Shevchenko, due to the following sanitary and hygienic safety rules, procedures for processing goods in ports are delayed.
According to him, in connection with the epidemic, there is no air traffic now, thus, cargo carried earlier by passenger flights is delivered by cargo planes.
“Accordingly, there are not enough places for cargo departures. Airlines that continue to fly to Ukraine with cargo planes have increased tariffs. Now a place for departure should be booked a few days before departure, tariffs are provided in the mode for today,” the co-owner of Zammler said.
Shevchenko also said that over the past week, the situation with international trucking has changed dramatically.
“If last week tariffs on imported freight were 40-50% higher than pre-quarantined, to date the price situation has stabilized. Last week there was a shortage of transport in Europe due to high demand (recipients tried to replenish stocks of goods). But now we see a shortage of goods, namely enterprises are suspending operations, the volume of exports and imports is declining,” he said.
According to Zammler’s forecasts, the queues at key automobile checkpoints will soon resume again due to the closure of the Hrebenne-Rava-Ruska checkpoint.
Shevchenko said that the cost of freight traffic in the territory of Ukraine due to the epidemic has not yet changed.
“There is a slight decline in volumes, to 10%. It is difficult to predict the further value, since it directly depends on the stability of the exchange rate,” he said.
Zammler Group is a Ukrainian group of logistics companies with offices in Europe and Asia. The group companies provide all types of logistics services for the B2B segment.
The ZAMMLER Group (Ukraine), providing transport and warehouse logistics services, plans to implement a project to build a warehouse complex in three stages near Kyiv with gross area of 60,000 square meters, Director of ZAMMLER Group Viktor Shevchenko has said.
“We expect to take a loan from a Ukrainian bank this year to build a warehouse in three stages. It is economically easier and more expedient from the point of view of the gradual moving of our clients. Now we are actively working on the issue of buying a land parcel for the construction site – after settling this issue it would be possible to talk about the loan in details,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
Shevchenko said that the company is also negotiating with the European Bank for Reconstuction and Development (EBRD) on project financing.
According to him, at present the cost of building a class A warehouse in Ukraine costs about $500 per square meter, while the average purchase price of the finished warehouse after the crisis has not changed and now is $300-350 per square meter.
“But at the same time everything that is offered on the market is more than 10 years old and requires renovation. If the owner of the facility is a developer, then he still cares for it, but if it is a bank, then in the warehouse was repaired two or three years ago. Therefore, it is often necessary to add about $200 per square meter for renovation to the selling price, which results in the same $400-500 per square meter. Besides, you invest them in the old building,” he said.
The ZAMMLER Group incorporates Zammler Ukraine (Kyiv), Zammler Warehouse LLC (Martusivka, Kyiv region), Zammler Fulfilment LLC (Krasylivka, Kyiv region), MLS LLC (Kharkiv), Ningbo Zammler Trading Co LTD (China) and ZAMMLER POLSKA Sp.z o.o. (Poland).
The group provides services in the sphere of transportation by road, by rail, by sea and by air, customs clearance services and a full range of warehouse services.
The Ukrainian group of companies ZAMMLER, which provides transport and warehouse logistics services, plans to participate in a tender of the Swedish furniture store chain IKEA in connection with its access to the Ukrainian market, Director of ZAMMLER Group Viktor Shevchenko has said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine. “Work on expanding the client base continues all the time. It’s probably not a secret that the well-known international brand IKEA is entering Ukraine. For logistics this is a big event and we have very ambitious plans on this matter. We intend to take part in their autumn tender for the election of a logistics operator,” he said.
ZAMMLER provides services in the field of automobile, sea, rail, air transportation, customs brokerage, as well as a full range of warehouse services.
The company includes Zammler Ukraine (Kyiv), Zammler Warehouse (Martusivka, Kyiv region), Zammler Fulfillment LLC (Krasylivka, Kyiv region), MLS Company LLC (Kharkiv), Ningbo Zammler Trading Co LTD (China), and ZAMMLER POLSKA Sp.z o.o. (Poland).
ZAMMLER POLSKA Sp.z o.o. (Poland), part of Ukraine’s ZAMMLER Group, providing transport and warehouse logistics services, plans to expand its own fleet of trucks by 100 Volvo trucks by the end of 2019, ZAMMLER Group Director Viktor Shevchenko has said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“We have analyzed the prospects of development on the Polish logistic market and came to the conclusion that we need to focus on transportation by road… Thanks to the fact that we have received access to cheap Polish loans, in summer we will expand our own fleet by 38 Volvo trucks, and by the end of next year we plan to have over 100 new trucks. We buy them in Poland. The cost of one truck is EUR 120,000,” Shevchenko said.
He said that after expanding the fleet the logistic operator would consider a possibility of expanding warehouses in Poland.
“After entering the Polish market we acquired seven trucks and leased 3,000 square meters of warehouse space near Warsaw to service our Ukrainian clients (their share in the warehouse is 90%). This should be a platform for training for us and our clients, who also plan to enter the European market. We offer lower price to these clients if they need it, provide them with consultations of our lawyers. We see prospects in long cooperation and hope to develop together with them on the European market,” Shevchenko said.
The ZAMMLER Group incorporates Zammler Ukraine (Kyiv), Zammler Warehouse LLC (Martusivka, Kyiv region), Zammler Fulfilment LLC (Krasylivka, Kyiv region), MLS LLC (Kharkiv), Ningbo Zammler Trading Co LTD (China) and ZAMMLER POLSKA Sp.z o.o. (Poland).
The group provides services in the sphere of transportation by road, by rail, by sea and by air, customs clearance services and a full range of warehouse services.
