Newsletter – September 27, 2021

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    Sep

    Newsletter – September 27, 2021
    AIR FREIGHT UPDATES
    Air cargo charters at a premium as capacity squeeze tightens

    lloydsloadinglist.com
    Such is the severity of the current air cargo capacity squeeze that there will be shipments for which (air) transport solutions cannot be found between now and the end of year, a leading air charter broker has warned.
    ”Most widebody freighters have been secured by major forwarders, e-commerce firms and express courier companies on long term programmes leaving very little air cargo charter capacity available as the peak season approaches,” Chapman Freeborn’s Group Cargo Director, Operations, Pierre Van der Stichele, told Lloyd’s Loading List in an interview. Read more here.

    OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES
    Container ships now piling up at anchorages off China’s ports

    freightwaves.com
    There are over 60 container ships full of import cargo stuck offshore of Los Angeles and Long Beach, but there are more than double that — 154 as of Friday — waiting to load export cargo off Shanghai and Ningbo in China, according to eeSea, a company that analyzes carrier schedules.
    The number of container ships anchored off Shanghai and Ningbo has surged over recent weeks. There are now 242 container ships waiting for berths countrywide.  Read more here.

    Transpacific spot rates ease ahead of China’s Golden Week

    theloadstar.com
    There were signs of a silver lining finally beginning to appear for beleaguered US shippers this week, after the spot container freight rates to both the west and east coast showed a second week of declines on the Freightos Baltic Index (FBX).
    Today’s FBX covering the China-US west coast route stood at $19,173 per 40ft, down from the $20,143 last week and the record high of $20,586 per 40ft on 10 September. Read more here.

    GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES
    Why is the number of railcars in storage important?

    freightwaves.com
    Rail equipment manufacturers, suppliers and industry observers will talk about the number of railcars in storage being up or down. But why is that figure important?
    Knowing how many railcars are in storage is significant because that figure helps observers understand network capacity in relation to the broader economy. Industry participants also look at the number of railcars in storage by railcar type to gauge expectations for where railcar lease rates are heading and the volume of orders that manufacturers will receive for newly built railcars. Read more here.

    CANADA BUSINESS- GOVERNMENT UPDATES
    PSAC-CIU members ratify new agreement with CBSA

    psacunion.ca
    PSAC-CIU members in the Border Services (FB) bargaining unit have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the tentative agreement with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). The FB group represents over 8,500 CBSA employees who have been on the front lines of the pandemic since day one, protecting our borders and keeping Canadians safe.
    The new contract is a four-year agreement from 2018-2022 with a total increase in wages of over 8%. The deal includes better protections against excessive discipline in the workplace, a commitment to tackle workplace culture problems, and improvements to leave and other allowances. It also addresses the long-standing issue of meal period compensation for uniformed officers. Read more here.

    INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS- GOVERNMENT UPDATES
    UK’s driver shortage now affecting petrol supplies

    lloydsloadinglist.com
    The on-going crisis related to the shortage of HGV drivers in the UK has now affecting deliveries to petrol stations, with hundreds no longer selling some grades of fuel or being forced to close entirely.
    The government has said there is no need for concern, with plenty of fuel supplies in the country, and a spokesperson urged people to continue to buy as usual in an effort to avert panic-buying. Read more here.

    FedEx Gets Hit As Higher Wages Decrease Earnings

    forbes.com
    FedEx FDX +0.8% missed earnings-per-share estimates when it reported after the closing bell on September 21. This was the second quarter in a row of missed earnings.
    There was an important warning on the company’s daily chart. A death cross was confirmed on September 15. By definition, a death cross occurs when the 50-day simple moving average falls below the 200-day simple moving average. The stock closed that day at $256.59. The stock ended last week at $226.64 with its semiannual value level at $215.97. Read more here (login required).

    Why are supply chains so messed up?

    freightwaves.com
    This is the question that I am asked on a daily basis. The issue is very complex, so I usually quip with a surprising response, “They’ve always had issues, but no one was really paying attention.” Turns out, unless the person works in freight, they are very unsatisfied with this answer. After all, freight and products just seemed to automatically show up before, but that is no longer the case.  Read more here.

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