Newsletter – January 8, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

With air cargo rates set to remain sky high, shippers need to plan carefully

theloadstar.com
Accurate forecasting by shippers will be crucial to manage their shipping requirements – and costs – efficiently, as air freight rates look set to remain high this year.
The Baltic Air Freight Index saw a 100% year-on-year increase this week, while the past few weeks have seen the highest readings since the Q2 capacity shortage. Read more here.

Air cargo market levels off in November; passenger sector sinks

freightwave.com
The airline industry contrast couldn’t be more stark: International passenger demand during November was 88.3% less than in 2019, while cargo volumes were only 7.7% below the prior year’s level, according to the International Air Transport Association. Read more here.

Hong Kong Extends UK & South Africa Flight Ban

simpleflying.com
On January 7th, Hong Kong’s government decided to extend its ban on flights from the UK and South Africa for at least another two weeks. The rule specifically prohibits any person having spent more than two hours in either country during the three weeks prior from boarding any plane for Hong Kong. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Space on box ships out of Asia now going, going, gone – to the highest bidder

theloadstar.com
Major forwarders are engaged in fierce bidding wars in China, in order to secure equipment and space to North Europe.
And several carriers are reported to have opened first- and second-round tenders with the highest bidders for guaranteed shipment this month. Read more here (login required).

Container market recovery extends through November

lloydsloadinglist.com
Container volumes on the principal deepsea trades continued their ascent in November, as the market recovery gained further strength through the fourth quarter of 2020.
The latest figures published by Container Trades Statistics show that global volumes carried that month were recorded at 15.2m teu, a rise of 8% on November 2019 to prolong the trend of rising box numbers way beyond the sector’s traditional peak season. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

How COVID-19 is changing packaging

supplychaindive.com
hifting consumer shopping habits during the COVID-19 pandemic drove changes all up and down the supply chain — including in the way goods are packaged.
Operations managers had to rethink how their packaging works in environments where workers must stay at least six feet apart, said Laura Clark, vice president of global strategy and business development at Sealed Air. Read more here.

US firms urge Washington not to hit Vietnam trade with ‘China-style’ tariffs

theloadstar.com
US firms have urged Washington not to slap China-style trade tariffs on Vietnam.
The call comes after the US Treasury labelled Vietnam as a “currency manipulator”, following two probes into the country’s currency practices and timber industry by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).
USTR Section 301 investigations are the same mechanism used to launch the tariff war with China, prompting fears that the same fate awaits its South-east Asian neighbour. Read more here.

$6bn annual cost of not knowing the danger from what’s in your containers

theloadstar.com
Poorly packed containers and shipper misunderstanding of the dangers of some non-hazardous cargo could result in more than $6bn in annual damages to the supply chain.
Leading freight and transport insurer TT Club has renewed its call to shippers and other cargo interests to “take responsibility to ensure the risks are mitigated”. Read more here.