Newsletter – September 5, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Air freight peak season bounce an encouraging sign amid flat markets

theloadstar.com
“E-commerce activity is still strong, though markets worry about a slowdown in China as well as in the west”
Air freight rates stayed in a fairly narrow range again in August, the traditionally quiet summer period. Read more here (login required).

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

US West Coast port workers ratify contract agreement

reuters.com
Aug 31 (Reuters) – U.S. dockworkers ratified a six-year contract that improved pay and benefits for 22,000 employees at 29 ports stretching from California to Washington State, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) said on Thursday. Read more here.

Bleak outlook for box trades as demand weakens prior to Golden Week

theloadstar.com
Export bookings leading up to China’s Golden Week holiday, starting 29 September, are reported to be ‘disappointing’, and the outlook thereafter is especially bleak, obliging carriers to take radical blanking action.
As a consequence of the void sailings from China, Europe and the US, container terminals and North Europe’s feeder and barge operators can expect a very lean time ahead. Read more here (login required).

MSC faces big bill from Flaminia blast case 

splash247.com
A court in the UK has upheld a judgement that charterers cannot limit an owner’s claim for its own losses in the latest legal chapter pertaining to the explosion onboard the MSC Flaminia boxship 11 years ago.
The case arises from a casualty onboard the MSC Flaminia on July 14 2012 while the ship was in mid-Atlantic en route from Charleston, South Carolina, to Antwerp. An explosion occurred in the no. 4 cargo hold which led to a large fire onboard. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Labor Day amplifies increase in cargo thefts in 2023

freightwaves.com
As it does every year, the upcoming Labor Day holiday brings with it concerns about cargo theft. This year, the spotlight burns a little brighter because shipment theft and pilferage seem to be picking up steam. Read more here.

Reports of mass global shift from China are being ‘overplayed’

theloadstar.com
Reports of China losing its position as the world’s manufacturer, as shippers look to source elsewhere, have been “greatly exaggerated”, according to the director of the Global Shippers Forum, James Hookham.
He told The Loadstar the concept of reshoring was “being overplayed” in the media and, while there was “some movement”, it was marginal and driven more by concerns for contingency rather than replacement. Read more here (login required).

US labour board gloves-off stance threatens Amazon e-commerce dominance

theloadstar.com
Strengthened US labour law threatens to curtail Amazon’s union-busting tactics, potentially forcing the e-commerce giant to compete with unionised competitors FedEx, UPS and the USPS.
Last week, a new ruling by US federal entity the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) streamlined the union-forming process by shifting the onus from employees to prove workers want a union, to employers to prove they do not. Read more here (login required).