Please note: Containers, vessels, trucks, drivers, materials etc. may be unavailable or subject to delays and added costs because of Corona, supply chain, and economic turbulence despite meticulous due diligence. We apologize for any inconvenience and expense.
Information must come from and go through the Kef Office only.
Information from any source other is unreliable, as is information or instructions given to anyone outside the Kef office. Assume that you have and will be misunderstood; check and confirm our Agents’ understanding and work continually. Truckers/movers/Agents are NOT a reliable conduit for information and instructions–not for receiving or for giving. Therefore, follow our instructions religiously and ask any questions asap.
Early or Late?
Shipments, and all the components of the shipping process– containers, steamships, airplanes, trucks, crews, materials, drivers–can be significantly early or late. There is always significant uncertainty, no matter what you believe or have heard or read or understood the projected time frame to be. We do our best to keep to planned times, though we do not make promises or take responsibility for timing or changes or inaccurate information. The overall unpredictability comes from unforeseen earliness and delays at every stage of the process, which, when they happen in series, can compound to dramatic effect.
Time changes happen with surprising regularity in every part of the shipping process–packers, pickup truck, container, steamship, port handling, train from Haifa to Ashdod (or the reverse, or Baltimore to New York), container unloading, customs clearing, and delivery. We do our best to let you know when they occur. Hint: Whenever someone is expected, be sure you have their contact information as well as cell phone numbers of at least two Kef managers. When necessary, we are on call 24/7. Ask to be notified of any changes and to be called 45 minutes before their anticipated arrival.
Examples of causes for delays and extra charges: Containers are unavailable, waiting to be filled (if shared), or bumped due to overbooking. The vessel is cancelled, closing date is changed, loading/landing is bumped for under-booking/weather/war/strike, documentation is delayed/incorrect, engine breakdowns. The port is backed up. The truck is waiting to be filled (if shared), breaks down, is surprised by a prior difficult delivery. Kef has no responsibility for time or unexpected charges and any associated costs are yours. At pickup and delivery, ask the truckers to call you ½ hour before they will arrive.
Exclusive container shipments (FCL) are faster and more predictable than shared container shipments (LCL), because they usually go directly to the port from your home, then on to a ship, then into the port of arrival–without being unloaded–then to your home.
LCL’s (less than container loads) need to be matched up with other shipments to fill the container, and on the delivery side, the container is unloaded, your goods identified, then, often, matched up with other shipments to fill the delivery truck.
Choose a Target Arrival Date relative to your Arrival date
Those claiming import privileges must be in the country at the time their shipment is cleared. (It is possible to pay taxes and ask for them to be refunded, once your tax/visa status is in place.) Some choose:
Exclusive container FCL: 1-2 weeks after your arrival.
Consolidated/Shared Shipment LCL: a few days after you arrive.
Check for updates.
Ask us regularly. Even information about changes does not come automatically and it is not unusual that the “official” sources are unreliable.
Estimated times from pick-up until arrival at destination port. Add 1 week for clearing and delivery of an FCL and 2 for an LCL.
East Coast:
FCL: 4-6 weeks (DC and Florida) 3-5 weeks (New York) Sailings to/from Florida sometimes change vessels in the Mediterranean, adding 1-2 weeks.
LCL: Minimum 6 weeks. 8- 12 weeks is average. In winter, add 2-6 weeks.
West Coast:
FCL: 6-8 weeks.
LCL: Minimum 7 weeks. 9-13 weeks is average. In winter, add 2-6 weeks.
Storage and related fees are yours to pay.
LCL delivery takes from one to several weeks after clearing customs. At origin and destination, the smaller the shipment, the less predictable the time of shipping and delivery, the greater chance of delay. Please see LCL Arrival notice moving to Israel. At the port in Israel, LCL’s have 28 free days, at the US port, it depends on the port, usually only a week
Containers that arrive in Haifa and are sent by rail to Ashdod have 2 days of free storage in Ashdod. Shipments to be cleared and delivered from Haifa have 4 days. If all goes well, it can take a week to clear through customs and deliver a container. For all import and export shipments, expect at least a few days of port storage charges and container rental.
Some causes of delay
From your side–for shipments to Israel– not having opened a file at Customs, prepared and presented documents before ship’s arrival, accepted delivery when offered, or finished paying. No matter which direction your shipment is heading, not having presented completed customs documents to Kef or our agents, accepting delivery when offered, and finished paying are all of those factors that can freeze the progress of your shipment.
From the shipping side–container unavailability, difficulty filling a shared container, vessel overbooking, cancelling, changing its closeout date, missed connections, engine breakdown, deleting ports from its schedule, delays or mistakes in documents, strikes, wars, congestion of ports, vessels, trains, trucks, or delivery teams. Risk of delay is greater in summer, when most of the year’s traffic moves.
Containers loading from storage are more often delayed. “Live load” containers, where goods are put directly into the shipping container, which is sent straight to port have greater urgency and are less frequently rescheduled.
