APL TELLS SHIPPERS: PUT DEMURRAGE ON PLASTIC

APL TELLS SHIPPERS: PUT DEMURRAGE ON PLASTIC    The container shipping line APL has introduced a system that allows shippers to pay demurrage container charges online by credit card, saying that it speeds up the release of import containers.
   APL, owned by Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines, said it has become “the first global container carrier to offer customers the option to pay for certain shipping charges online with a credit card.”
   The ocean carrier is initially offering this payment option for demurrage costs — fees related to container usage beyond free time limits, and storage of the customer’s shipment.
   Demurrage fees are often the last fees to be paid before releasing the customers’ shipment from the terminal. This means that late payment of demurrage can hold up the shipment.
   A payment made via the Internet is immediately recognized in APL’s system, speeding up release of the freight to the importer and streamlining pickup by the customer’s trucker, the carrier said.
   “It is as convenient as buying a book online,” said Phillip Chin, APL’s vice president for e-commerce.
   An online payment can eliminates the time and expense of issuing a check and sending it by courier or overnight delivery to the trucker. It can also eliminate the need for truckers to pay the demurrage on behalf of importers or brokers, and then wait for reimbursement.
   “It also means truckers can avoid waiting in demurrage queues at container facilities,” said Chin.
   For some time, APL customers have been able to calculate their demurrage charges online via APL’s web portal.
   APL said it is making the online payment system available for shipments arriving at virtually all of its facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The company expects to expand the capability to other regions.