JANUARY 2022 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 23
SALVATORE J. STILE, PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF ALBA WHEELS UP INTERNATIONAL
FORWARD THINKING
BY CLAUDE SOLNIK
Consumers increasingly receive goods
from around the globe. Alba Wheels Up
International, an international freight
forwarder and customs broker, specializes
in bringing items into the United
States. We talked with Salvatore J. Stile,
president and chairman of the Valley
Stream-based company which has more
than $300 million in annual sales and
about 200 employees, about importing
in an increasingly international world.
What does your company do?
My company is an international freight
forwarder and U.S Customs broker.
They work in tandem with each other.
One service is bringing goods into the
United States or exporting out of the
United States via ocean or air freight.
Customs clearance is guiding clients
through the proper Customs rules and
regulations. We also deal with other
government agencies such as the
FDA and EPA. We make sure
we assess the proper duties
and tariffs. There are
over 25,000 tariff codes
that apply to products
coming into the United
States.
What type of commodities
do you
you
handle?
We bring billions of
dollars
of goods to the United States ranging
from apparel to footwear and accessories
to electronics and food items. The
most common would be apparel-related
and consumer products. The most uncommon?
We cleared the 911 monument
in Bayonne, N.J., called Teardrop, given
as a gift from the Russian government
and a famous Russian sculptor. Many
years ago, we exported 70,000 pounds
of custom silver made of sterling from
a company in Brooklyn that made it for
the Saudi royal family wedding.
What countries do you deal with most
and what are the biggest issues?
Asia and the Indian subcontinent. I
would say now the biggest issues are the
additional tariff s, the 301 tariff s more
commonly referred to as the Trump
tariff s. If a duty would be 10% from other
countries, there would be an additional
tariff ranging from 7.5 to
25% from China.
What’s the extent and primary cause
for delays now?
Probably about 50 to 60 days. Something
that would take from door to shelf
in ocean in 30 days now takes close to 80.
Factories have been shut down. There
were allotments for electricity where
they worked at 60 percent capacity.
Steamship lines may schedule six ships
to LA, but only send four. The LA ports
are like a clogged drain. There’s been a
lot of blank sailings where steamship
lines don’t send vessels, because they
either don’t have enough commitment
to fi ll them or they want to keep the
ocean freight rates at a stabilized level.
What other things cause delays?
There are equipment and personnel
shortages. There is a shortage of chassis,
the wheels that a container is put on
that connects to a truck.
A lot of people
aren’t returning the chassis in time.
They’re not manufacturing them as
quickly as possible. Another reason for
delays is, the terminal yard is so packed,
it’s hard to maneuver in the terminal.
Has anything specifi c been happening
in China lately leading to delays?
They had the Golden Week holiday
in October. It’s a national holiday, so
they shut down. There were fewer
shipments coming out of China.
What does it take to survive as a logistics
freight forwarder today?
Capital. Best in class technology. You
have to be an advocate for your
clients to come up with solutions
outside of normal
processes. And as a
Customs broker, you
have to understand
how available rules
and regulations can
be beneficial to
your clients.
Can you give examples?
We’re strong in the Section 321 program,
a direct-to-consumer program. If you’re
an importer and know who your client
is before goods ship from the country
of export, if the eligible merchandise
is under $800 in value, there’s no duty
on the product. If you bring in a container
of women’s knitted blouses from
China, the total tariff s and duty would
be $29,000 or $30,000. If you utilize
the section 321 program, eff ectively, it
would be zero.
Is that something new?
It’s been around for several years. It
used to be a $200 limit, but it was raised
to $800. Not only is it duty free, aft er
you pick up the container from the port,
you can drop it into your domestic supply
chain. You don’t have to go to your
distribution center.
What has your company done to help
clients get through these difficult
times?
We’ve helped fi nance them with credit
terms, because freight is five times
more than it used to be. They rely on
us for financial support and speed
to market. We get goods delivered
to market quicker than a lot of our
competitors. We do that by planning
shipments from export with technology,
so we can anticipate what trucks are
needed, reserve space, pick up goods
at the terminal and clear goods before
they arrive at the port.
What do you foresee in the next
year as the impact on the import
community?
I see trouble ahead, not only for the
import community, but the consumer.
I see rates staying high. I see the lending
community going to pull back on advances
to importers. They’re concerned.
This can’t be an ongoing situation. A lot
of importers haven’t been passing on
higher rates to retailers. You could see
another 5% to 10% bump in consumer
goods prices.
CORNER OFFICE
“Something that would
take from door to shelf
in ocean in 30 days
now takes close to 80.”
Salvatore J. Stile
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