Another Day

Yesterday was interesting day with Mr. Feuer. It wasn’t as busy so I shadowed him as he went through his daily tasks. He checked the status of shipping containers coming from Beijing, where the factory is to Xingang , the location of the port,  to Long Beach on MSC, the Mediterranean Shipping Company. It was interesting, because just like tracking a package after ordering something online, he could check where his container was and the estimated date of arrival in Long Beach, then in Cleveland. I learned more about his shipping endeavors as well. Most of the time he has his animal skins shipped to Long Beach, though he tells me the new “hot” port is Prince Rupert Island in British Columbia. The problem is it is more of hassle because the goods must pass customs twice, once in Canada upon arrival, and then when they cross the border to the US. Thus, he uses Long Beach more often. He also has a warehouse in Los Angeles. Additionally with customs, he must file a report at least 4 days before the goods arrive in the US or he faces a 5000 dollar fine. Another way he could ship his skins from China would be to use the Panama Canal and then go to New York. The problem with this is that it costs more to truck the skins from New York than to put them on a train from Long Beach, which I thought was interesting.