August 31, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Around 200 trucks queueing at Dhaka Airport – but Chittagong resumes flights

theloadstar.com
Some 200 vehicles are waiting outside Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, which is undergoing a perfect storm of construction works, high export demand and failing scanners.
Kabir Ahmed, president of the Bangladesh Freight Forwarders Association (BAFFA), said due to the absence of scheduled flights, exporters were almost fully dependent on freighter aircraft, which are not operating regularly to the country. Read more here.

Afghanistan Airspace Left Uncontrolled Following US Departure

simpleflying.com
Just before midnight on Monday, the last American soldier strode onto a McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III at Hamid Karzai International Airport. As the plane took off, it brought an end to the longest war in US history. For the first time in nearly 20 years, there are no American troops in Afghanistan. Nor is there currently anyone in control of Afghanistan’s airspace. Read more here (login required).

World’s largest aircraft lessor expands globally to meet capacity demand

freightwaves.com
Even as retail stores across the nation reopen and compete with e-commerce sales, e-commerce continues its fight upward. According to data from the National Retail Federation, the positive year-over-year growth of U.S. online sales in 2021 will sit between 18% and 23%, contributing to overall retail sales growth of up to 13.5%.  Read more here.

Pandemic taught passenger airlines lesson about the value of freight

freightwaves.com
The director general of the International Air Transport Association acknowledged Monday that the organization has not always valued cargo throughout its history but said the pandemic taught airline executives that shipping goods can be profitable with more focused service.
“People probably haven’t fully appreciated the importance of cargo to the financial model of a lot of airlines,” Willie Walsh, the former chief executive of British Airways and International Airlines Group, said during a moderated exchange at the Cargo Network Services (CNS) conference in Miami. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Insurer gives warning as desperate shippers seek bulk carriers to move containers

splash247. com
Leading exporters are chartering bulk carriers to move containers, something the UK P&I Club has warned carries a raft of safety issues.
Amid container shipping’s most extraordinary year for rates and available tonnage, desperate shippers have tapped bulk carrier owners to move boxes with rumoured deals done for shipments on a range of sizes from capes down to supramaxes in recent weeks. Read more here.