Newsletter – June 20, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Thunderstorms Ground Flights In Miami And Fort Lauderdale

simpleflying.com
Hundreds of flights arriving and departing from South Florida airports were impacted due to severe weather on Monday. The intense thunderstorms prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to place Miami International Airport (MIA) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) under an advisory, with ground stops issued for several hours. Read more here

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Put-up or shut-up time in contract negotiations along B.C.’s waterfront

biv.com
It’s contract crunch time along B.C.’s working waterfront this week for dockworkers and their employers.
It will be crisis management time for the local, regional and national economies if that crunch escalates to a head-on collision and strike notice turns into full-scale job action that disrupts cargo flow through Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway. Read more here

Container spot market: up or down ahead of late peak season?

theloadstar.com
The jury is still out on whether there will be a peak season this year – and also if ocean freight rates are heading north or south.
The verdict on the first count looks likely to be ’yes’, but subdued and later than normal. Read more here (login required).

Don’t be too eager for return to west coast ports, shippers warned

theloadstar.com
Shippers are being warned against a hasty return to the US west coast after an apparent breakthrough in contract disputes and while there are concerns over an “unprecedented” drought in the Panama Canal.
Reports over the past week have suggested the El Niño weather system will result in historic lows along the famous canal bringing stricter draught restrictions and threats of a complete halt to container shipping transits. Read more here (login required).

RAIL AND GROUND FREIGHT UPDATES

Canadian rail giant has high hopes for new intermodal reefer service

theloadstar.com
Canadian Pacific Kansas City Rail (CPKC) is bullish on the prospects for its Mexico intermodal reefer service launched last month despite the closure last week of one of the pioneers of the concept.
The Class I railway has invested in 1,000 53ft refrigerated intermodal containers, which doubles its intermodal reefer container fleet. Read more here (login required).

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

US business logistics costs soared in 2022, report finds

freightwaves.com
In 2022, U.S. business logistics costs, or what is spent to keep the nation’s logistics network humming, grew by an astounding 19.6% to a record $2.3 trillion, representing 9.1% of national gross domestic product, according to the 34th annual State of Logistics Report.
On a percentage basis, financial cost of inventory led the way with a 90.2% increase, fueled by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate increases. From the standpoint of modes, truckload costs rose 6.2% to $403.8 billion. Less-than-truckload costs rose 6.4% to $96.3 billion, while private or dedicated costs rose 6% to $95.8 billion. Read more here