BIFAlink March 2026

Industry News

Review of rates on commercial property Every three years the Valuation Of fi ce Agency (VOA) updates the rateable values of all commercial properties in England and Wales. These are used by local Customers can view their draft valuations using the VOA’s online service. These come into effect on 1 April 2026. More information about revaluation is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidanc e/help-with-the-2026- business-rates-revaluation Customers have until councils to calculate business rates bills. 31 March 2026 to request changes to their current valuation. After this they will only be able to request changes to their future valuation.

Happy 70th birthday to the shipping container

This year, 2026, is the 70th anniversary of the shipping container. In 1956, US trucking entrepreneur Malcom McLean revolutionised global trade with a simple idea: a standardised steel box that could seamlessly move cargo across ships, trucks and trains. His multimodal transport vision was realised on 26 April that year when SS Ideal-X carried 58 brand new shipping containers from Newark, New Jersey, to Houston, Texas.

Today, shipping containers handle a significant percentage of world trade, helping to move around US$14 trillion worth of goods each year. From the loading dock of the shipper to the receiving door of the consignee, containers enable efficient, secure and scalable logistics across continents. But while their origins lie in operational efficiency, the shipping container has evolved into something far greater than a steel box – it has become a global symbol

of innovation, resilience and opportunity. In a recent TT Talk article entitled How containers changed the world , Mike Yarwood, managing director loss prevention, goes on to explain how the humble shipping container has transformed global trade through greater efficiency and the protection of cargo and management of supply chain risk.

You can read the full article here or listen to the podcast on Spotify. The Limits of Liability for Carriers

In association with

By sea – Hague Visby rules (2 SDR): £2.06 per kg £687.71 per package

By air – Warsaw Convention (17 SDR): £17.54 per kg

BIFA STC: (2 SDR): £2.06 per kg

By road – CMR (8.33 SDR): £8.59 per kg

Insurance for the Marine & Logistics industries

(The SDR rate on 26 November 2026, according to the IMF website, was 1.03156)

By air – Montreal Convention (26 SDR): £26.82 per kg

+44 (0) 1628 532613

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