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Hong Kong reviews river fees as mainland ports lure cargo away

Hong Kong is reviewing permit fees charged to river trade vessels as it seeks to maintain its port's competitiveness amid growing competition from mainland Chinese terminals in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The secretary for transport and logistics, Chan Mei-po, announced the review in a written reply to the Legislative Council on Wednesday. China-flagged vessels carry containers between ports in the Pearl River Delta and Hong Kong, where cargo may be transferred to ocean-going vessels for onward shipment. Mainland Chinese ports offer incentives to attract inland waterway vessels carrying cargo, promising financial subsidies and exemptions from mandatory pilotage requirements. Hong Kong operates a multiple-entry permit scheme, allowing operators to make up to 10 port entries within a month for a fee equivalent to five single-entries - the "buy five, get five free" system. Ms Chan said: "The Action Plan on Maritime and Port Development Strategy proposes various measures to strengthen Hong Kong's position as a regional transhipment hub, including reviewing the permit fees charged to river trade vessels in order to maintain the competitiveness and attractiveness of the port to the industry. We have completed a preliminary review and are now discussing the matter with relevant departments, with the details to be released in due course." Laden container movements between Hong Kong and mainland China account for more than 40% of the territory's annual laden container throughput. But statistics show a decline in river cargo vessel arrivals and associated container volumes since 2023. The numbers cover vessels mainly berthing at Kwai Tsing Container Terminals. In 2023, there were 4,344 arrivals, handling 1.63m teu. By 2025, this had fallen to 3,519 arrivals and 1.52m teu. In the first seven months of 2026, there were 2,101 arrivals, handling 878,000 teu. Decades ago, Hong Kong was among the world's three busiest container ports. but mainland ports have overtaken the territory as Chinese exports surged and their port infrastructure was upgraded. Hong Kong handled 12.99m teu in 2025, down 5.1% year on year.

UPS in court bid to recover tariff payments ruled 'unlawful'

UPS has its sights set on US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), launching legal action against the agency to reclaim refunds and interest for tariffs paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), with it having already received some $500m. Filed at the US Court of International Trade on Friday, the lawsuit seeks to compel CBP to re-liquidate entries and issue refunds, not only for duties paid, but also accrued interest, after the US Supreme Court ruled the tariffs unlawful in February. The lawsuit covers entries for which UPS was the 'importer of record' (IOR), allowing it to claim refunds directly from CBP, although the integrator noted that, in many cases, it was customers that had borne the cost of the duties. It said it would pass any recovered funds to them. Together with UPS, United Parcel Service Oasis Supply Corp and UPS Supply Chain Solutions are seeking the re-liquidation of entries on which the 'unlawful' duties were assessed, including those that have already been finally liquidated. Under the CBP's phased Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE), April's Phase 1 covered unliquidated entries and certain entries liquidated within the previous 80 days, Phase 2 followed in June, with Phase 3 opening last month. This covers finally liquidated entries, but refunds can only be processed where the importer has obtained an order for re-liquidation from the Court of International Trade - CBP maintains that such an order is required before it can repay the duties. Pointing to previous assurances from the government that refunds, including interest, would be made if the IEEPA tariffs were found unlawful, UPS said its claim was intended to preserve its own and its customers' rights to recover the money. Having received some $500m from CBP under the tariff refund programme, UPS's latest quarterly filings indicated that, by the start of October, it had passed on around $230m, with $270m still owed to customers.

'Reminds me of Covid': AI equipment chokes Taiwan's air cargo gateway

Uncollected imports are clogging cargo warehouses at Taiwan Taoyuan Airport, tying up dollies and slowing aircraft unloading as equipment arrives to support the island's AI and semiconductor industries, according to local forwarders. Seko Logistics has reported handling pressure affecting China Airlines, EVA Air, and Starlux, alongside selected China Airlines flight cancellations, including US-bound freighter services. "Reminds me of Covid days," one forwarder told The Loadstar. "There is a shortage of dollies at the airport, so cargo cannot be unloaded from aircraft and towed to the ground handlers for breakdown, etc." The source said the equipment shortage stemmed from freight accumulating in warehouses because consignees had yet to collect it. "There is so much freight sitting in the GHA warehouse and this not being collected by customers. There apparently is cargo from early September still sitting there." The reason for the delayed collections remains uncertain, but the source suggested incoming equipment was reaching Taiwan before facilities intended to receive it were ready. "We are not 100% sure why customers are not collecting the freight, but we understand this also stems from the customers' manufacturing facilities not being ready to take on this equipment yet. So, the whole supply chain is backlogged." That accumulation was creating a knock-on shortage of equipment needed to move newly arrived cargo. "Because the GHA is so full, no new cargo can be brought in, so all the freight is sitting outside the warehouse on the dollies, resulting in a dolly shortage," the forwarder explained. "Apparently, it is primarily the China Airlines (CI) warehouse that is full, so CI services are most affected." The congestion was also spreading beyond the immediately affected warehouse, the source added. "Now the bridge connecting the main terminal to the GHA is packed with these loaded dollies so it's blocking the way, and other GHA cargo also being slowed down and affected." The forwarder attributed the pressure to equipment imports supporting Taiwan's technology sector. "All this arising from the incredible imports Taiwan is now facing for AI, semi-con and AI-related services. Manufacturing fully ramped up with so much new equipment coming in to support it is choking everything." The account adds detail to a 4 November advisory from Seko, which said China Airlines, EVA Air and Starlux had issued notices on 2 November warning that increased import volumes were putting pressure on staff, dollies, and handling capacity. Seko warned of potential delays in cargo breakdown and build-up, longer export processing times and changes to shipment departure schedules. It also reported receiving notifications of selected China Airlines cancellations, including US-bound freighters, but did not identify the flights or establish whether the cancellations resulted from the handling congestion. Rotate data shows inbound widebody freighter capacity to Taiwan increased 20% in the week from 29 October to 4 November compared with the preceding seven days. Narita-Taipei capacity increased by about 1,000 tonnes, or 49%, while Shanghai Pudong added 595 tonnes, up 76%, and Hong Kong added 572 tonnes, up 20%. Los Angeles-Taipei capacity rose 66%, adding 519 tonnes. The increase followed a 15% decline in the previous week, however, indicating a rebound. Outbound Taiwan-US widebody freighter capacity also increased, rising 4% over the same weekly comparison. Within that total, China Airlines' capacity fell 8%, or 263 tonnes, while EVA, UPS, and Atlas recorded increases. The figures suggest the reported handling disruption is occurring alongside growth in overall US-bound lift, rather than a general contraction in capacity.