CHSa Shipping

21/09/2025

If you thought our post about shipping containers was exciting, wait until you learn about ship canals!

The exact number can vary (depending on the definition of a ‘ship canal’), but there are currently at least 59 recognized ship canals globally. Let’s look at the two big ones that everyone’s heard of.

The Suez Canal was officially opened on November 17, 1869, making it 155 years old.
The Panama Canal was completed and opened on August 15, 1914, making it 111 years old.

The Suez Canal is approximately 193.3 kilometres (120.1 miles) long.
The Panama Canal is approximately 82 kilometres (51 miles) long.

The Suez Canal has no locks; it is a sea-level waterway.
The Panama Canal has a total of 12 locks, they raises ships up to a height of 26 meters (85 feet) above sea level, and back down again.

The Suez canal averages about 55 ships transiting daily.
The Panama canal, an average of 35 ships passing through daily.

The maximum depth of the Suez canal is approximately 20.1 meters (66 feet) at its deepest points.
The Panama Canal has a maximum depth of approximately 15.2 meters (50 feet).

Here at CHSa Shipping we always like to learn something new, we hope you do to.

Global export specialists - from Laos all around the world

WhatsApp : +856 207 7777 239
email : [email protected]
Website : bit.ly/chsashipping-fb

14/09/2025

Change is the nature of the universe.

You can’t stop it. Things are changing all of the time, you may have noticed it recently?

Now, we don’t own a crystal ball, although we often wish we did. But we are in a very good position to navigate any rapidly-changing geopolitical situations that may be about to manifest themselves.

We are small and flexible, so we can respond quickly to sudden changes. We are not tied to one service provider or shipping route and we don’t have millions of dollar’s worth of equipment spread all over the world which might suddenly need to be recalled. We are based in a comparatively stable and politically uninteresting part of the world and we are independent traders, we have no corporate doctrine being handed down to us from any external controlling interests.

What this means for us here at CHSa, is that it will pretty much be business as usual regardless of what current world events throw up. We will continue to treat every customer and every shipment on their own individual needs and merits. We will continue to be free to operate as we see best, and we will continue to focus on finding the most secure and tax-efficient routes to keep your stock moving.

Global export specialists - from Laos all around the world

WhatsApp : +856 207 7777 239
email : [email protected]
Website : bit.ly/chsashipping-fb

07/09/2025

Tariffs (oh no, not again!)

There seems to be a lot of confusion about what they are and how they work, so here is a very basic explanation.

What Are Trade Tariffs?
Trade tariffs are taxes that a government imposes on goods imported from other countries. They are supposed to make foreign products more expensive compared to local products.

How Do Tariffs Work?

Basic Function
• When a company imports goods, it pays a tariff (tax) to the government.
• This tax is usually a percentage of the product's value. For example, a 10% tariff on a $100 item means the importer pays $10 in tax on top of the $100 item cost, so they pay $110 in all.

Who Pays the Tariff?
• The importer pays the tariff, but... that cost gets passed on to you, the consumer. The prices for imported goods in the shops have to cover the extra cost of the tariff.

Why Are Tariffs Used?
• Protect Domestic Industries: Tariffs help local businesses compete by making imported goods more expensive.
• Generate Revenue: They provide income for the government.
• Political Leverage: Countries use tariffs to influence trade negotiations, or to respond to, or even initiate unfair trade sanctions.

Effects of Tariffs
• Higher Prices: Consumers may pay more for imported goods.
• Reduced Choices: Fewer imported goods can lead to less variety in the market.
• Retaliation: Other countries may impose their own tariffs in response, leading to trade disputes.

Here at CHSa, our job is to try to find the trade routes for your goods which feature the lowest tariffs possible, or ideally none at all. More profit for you, lower prices for your customers, less paperwork for us. We call that a win for free trade.

Global export specialists - from Laos all around the world

WhatsApp : +856 207 7777 239
email : [email protected]
Website : bit.ly/chsashipping-fb

02/09/2025

Here at CHSa, we know we have many followers in Vietnam, and so we would like to send our best wishes to you on this day and thank you for your continued support.

Global export specialists - from Laos all around the world

WhatsApp : +856 207 7777 239
email : [email protected]
Website : bit.ly/chsashipping-fb

31/08/2025

Shipping containers, boring metal boxes, or unsung heros of world trade?

Here are some interesting shipping container facts and figures, if you can… contain... your excitement?

The stackable shipping container concept that we’re all familiar with today was first created in 1956, and there are currently about sixty five million shipping containers in use in the world today.

An empty 20 foot container still weighs 2 tonnes!

There are many different types; 20 foot long, 40 foot long, doors at one or both ends, doors on the sides, open-top, refrigerated, some that fold down into a flat-pack, huge cylinders in a container-sized framework for carrying liquids and gasses etc. 90% of containers currently in use are the 40 foot, doors-at-one-end-only type.

Containers are made from COR-TEN steel, a special alloy of steel that offers both CORrosion resistance and TENsile strength. Unlike the rust which forms when regular steel corrodes, which is porous and encourages more rust to form, CORTEN steel rust forms a protective barrier, preventing more rust from forming and so protecting the container from the severe sea weather and salt-spray.

Not all containers go to sea. There is a growing worldwide trend to use shipping containers as modular architectural units, with many people building some very creative and stylish homes out of them.

Here at CHSa Shipping we love our containers. They are a design masterpiece, so simple, yet so clever, and so essential today that if they all disappeared over night, world trade would instantly end.

Global export specialists - from Laos all around the world

WhatsApp : +856 207 7777 239
email : [email protected]
Website : bit.ly/chsashipping-fb

27/08/2025

Important Notice!

Changes to Parcel Shipments to the United States (USA).

The U.S. government has recently removed the duty-free (tax-free) exemption for international mail.

Effective August 29, 2025, all parcels to the U.S., regardless of value, now require commercial customs clearance and are subject to new duties and taxes.

This change makes sending parcels to the U.S. more complex and expensive for customers.

While we continue to accept parcels destined for the U.S., we strongly advise you to inquire with us beforehand.

Here at CHSa Shipping, our staff can provide information on the new costs and the required customs procedures to help you prepare your shipment.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we adapt to these new regulations.

Thank you for your business.

24/08/2025

Pollution, all around. Sometimes up, and sometimes down, but always... around.

It’s no surprise that the logistics industry is one of the planet’s main atmosheric polluters. A medium-large container ship might emit 600 tonnes of carbon dioxide every day on the open sea. A 15-day trip from China to the West Coast of the USA will pump a staggering 9000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere, and that’s just one ship!

A London startup company called Seabound has installed a revolutionary but very simple carbon capture idea onto an older container ship and is capturing 78% of the exhaust CO2 and over 90% of sulphur emissions.

The exhaust gas is pushed through a pile of calcium oxide pebbles. Carbon dioxide in the exhaust gas readily reacts with calcium oxide at room temperatures to create calcium carbonate, securely trapping the carbon dioxide.

Calcium carbonate is also a very widely used building material, worth more than the same weight of the original calcium oxide pebbles, so the ship actually generates a small profit from its exhaust gasses as it sails. Clever stuff, huh?

This system is still undergoing refinement, but here at CHSa Shipping we really hope this becomes commercially viable, as 3% of the world's total carbon emissions currently comes from shipping, and we don’t want to be a reason that it’s rising!

Global export specialists - from Laos all around the world

WhatsApp : +856 207 7777 239
email : [email protected]
Website : bit.ly/chsashipping-fb

17/08/2025

Something being discussed here at CHSa Shipping recently, was what we thought the two main barriers to international trade currently are.

The two things we came up with were also arguably the most influential inventions of the human race so far; language and money.

The language barrier is obvious, and something we’ve talked about already, with our staff being fluent in a combined six languages: Lao, Thai, English, Chinese, German and Vietnamese, it’s an issue we take seriously. Arguably English has come out as the international language of trade already, but what about money?

How can money be a barrier to trade? Well, take a trip to Italy, and try to buy something in a shop there with a fistful of Yen. That transaction is not going to happen.

This got us thinking that a huge leap forward for international trade could well be the adoption of a world-trade currency. Europe has the Euro which has proved to be an enormous success regarding international trade and tourism between EU countries, but outside of Europe nobody uses it. The US Dollar seems to have become the unofficial international trade currency used in southeast Asia and a few other areas of the world, but should there be an ASEAN common currency to replace the US dollar here? Should it be Fiat currency, or would it be better to move on to a crypto-currency for this?

What do you think? If it were up to you, would you implement this idea? If so, which language and which currency would you chose to make ‘official’ for world trade, and if you’re up to a bit of problem solving, how would you make it work?

Global export specialists - from Laos all around the world

WhatsApp 020 77 777 239
email [email protected]
www.chsashipping.com

13/08/2025

This is something that requires constant vigilence in the world of freigh forwarding and shipping in general.

We have not had explosives here yet, but we have intercepted an attempt to smuggle 10kg of cannabis out of Laos to the UK. The shipper lost their goods, the smugglers lost theirs as well, both products are now in the hands of customs and law enforcement officials.

When we take everything out of the packages we receive for shipping and carefully look through the contents of every single one, this is why.

Global export specialists - from Laos all around the world

WhatsApp : +856 207 7777 239
email : [email protected]
Website : bit.ly/chsashipping-fb

Four foreign nationals have been investigated over a parcel containing explosives that was sent via a courier company in Poland last year.

11/08/2025

Shout out to the independant traders and SMEs.

If you have a small business in Laos and are looking to regularly export your products, we want to hear form you. We are happy to give you a free quote.

Global export specialists - from Laos all around the world

WhatsApp : +856 207 7777 239
email : [email protected]
Website : bit.ly/chsashipping-fb

10/08/2025

It’s a very small world today, and like it or not, the global village is well and truly established.

From the days of neighbouring tribes first trading with each other, to the Silk Road, then the Spice Route, to the current day. Free trade has always been essential to the development of human civilisation. Not because everyone deserves an air fryer and an $800 handbag from the other side of the planet, but because with the trading of materials comes the trading of ideas, which is far, far more important to the success of our species!

Everything in the universe is flowing from one place to another, change is the nature of all things. If a fish in a bowl doesn’t get new water flowing in from outside, the fish will get sick and die. Same with a nation closing its borders to outside trade, turning the country in to a bowl that no fresh ideas can flow into, it will soon begin rot.

Here at CHSa shipping we are always open to new ideas, and understand the need to be flexible in our approach as the world around us constantly changes. We understand that there is always more than one way to do the job, always more than one route to ship your goods, and with them, your valuable ideas. We are not afraid to adopt working methods from other cultures and other industries, Our flexibility and openness to change is our strength.

If your current freight forwarder is unable to adapt to your ever-changing needs, get in touch with us and we will see what we can do for you.

Global export specialists - from Laos all around the world

WhatsApp 020 77 777 239
email [email protected]
www.chsashipping.com