Newsletter – February 9, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Air cargo capacity expected to remain constrained

aircargonews.net
Air cargo capacity is expected to remain constrained for some time, resulting in forwarders increasingly relying on charter operations.
In the latest Baltic Exchange airfreight rate newsletter, Bruce Chan, vice president of global logistics at investment bank Stifel, said that vaccination programmes were expected to lead to a pick-up in passenger travel in the second half of the year. Read more here.

US To Decide Whether To Extend Airline Support Until October

simpleflying.com
The newly installed Biden administration in Washington may turn out to be the airline industry’s new best friend. There are reports a House Committee in Washington will meet this week to consider extending payroll support through to September 30. If the deal goes through, a further US$14 billion could flow to the airlines for payroll support. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

As Digitization Improves Visibility, LCL is Becoming More Attractive to Shippers

loadstar.com
The shortage of containers in major tradelanes is driving demand for less-than-containerload (LCL) solutions.
With boxes available only at exorbitant rates, more shippers and forwarders are more open to less-straightforward alternatives to full-container offerings.
LCL has also been aided by the intensified push for digitization – this has led to better quoting capabilities and pricing transparency. Read more here (login required).

Container congestion chaos as Yantian pushes deadlines pre-new year holiday

theloadstar.com
Severe congestion has hit roads leading to the southern Chinese container gateway of Yantian, as exporters desperately try to clear a backlog of orders before the new year holiday begins at the end of the week.
And it appears forwarders and shippers trying to get shipments out of the Pearl River Delta could find themselves caught in classic Catch-22 situation after the port announced it was bringing forward the cut-off time for gating-in export containers. Read more here (login required).

Buoyant HMM in the black for the first time in five years, but liftings fall

theloadstar.com
South Korean ocean carrier HMM has posted its first annual profit for five years, despite a decrease in its liftings.
Revenue last year surged by 16.3%, compared with 2019, to $5.43bn, earned from a 9.2% decline in its container volume to 3.89m teu.
Net profit came in at $105m, in comparison with a loss of $500m the year before. Read more here (login required).

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

CP Customer Advisory: Extreme Cold Weather

ciffa.com
Due to the extreme cold from the Prairie operating region (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) to Northern Ontario, North Dakota and Minnesota, CP’s winter operating plan and train-length restrictions have been enacted. Customers may expect near-term delays of up to 48 hours. CP encourages customers to build additional time into their plans, as the cold weather is expected to continue throughout this week.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS- GOVERNMENT UPDATES

What recovery? Clothes retailers cut orders while factories fight to survive

reuters.com
LISBON/DHAKA (Reuters) – Clothes retailers in Europe and America sit on excess inventory and cut back on spring orders. Sourcing agents face late payments. Garment factories in Bangladesh are on the rack. Read more here.