Newsletter – April 13, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

As more air cargo capacity is needed, freighter conversion sector ups its game

heloadstar.com
With air freight capacity still 20% below 2019 levels and airlines predicting lower passenger traffic until 2023 or 2024, the freighter conversion market is heating up.
GE Capital Aviation Services (Gecas) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) said today they were halfway through the development programme for the 777-300ER conversion, a “key milestone”. Read more here (login required).

Tokyo Narita Airport Begins Trialing Facial Recognition Boarding

simpleflying.com
On Tuesday, Tokyo Narita Airport began trialing the use of facial recognition for international travelers. When rolled out in July, the system known as Face Express will allow passengers to register their passport and boarding pass at a self-check-in machine. The machine will take a photo, scanning facial features, which will then serve as documentation throughout the terminal. Read more here.

Artificial intelligence could find the answer to airport landside cargo congestion

theloadstar.com
Airport stakeholders have turned to AI technology to relieve the serious congestion that has plagued western European hubs for much of the past year.
At Schiphol, handlers Dnata and Menzies World Cargo have announced their participation in a ‘collaborative decision-making (CDM) system pilot’ from Cargohub, which aims to integrate landside operation processes between road feeders (RFS), handlers and forwarders. Read more here (login required).

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Partial strike at Port of Montreal as union, employers dig in

freightwaves.com
Longshoremen at the Port of Montreal are set to begin a partial strike on Tuesday after their employers moved to suspend guaranteed minimum pay in response to an 11% plunge in cargo volumes.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 375 stopped short of calling a full-blown strike at Canada’s second busiest port. Longshoremen won’t work overtime on weekdays or at all on the weekends, but will handle containers related to the pandemic and provide grain offloading services. Read more here.

Ports around the globe brace for massive post-Suez cargo logjams

theloadstar.com
As much as 1.9m teu of cargo is expected to be caught up in the Suez Canal-driven supply chain congestion shortly to engulf many of the world’s largest container ports.
According to new data from supply chain visibility platform Project44, the recent canal blockage has led to a cumulative delay to shipping fleets of 1,072 days. Read more here (login required).

China & Hong Kong – Booking Cancellation Fee (Update)

hapag-lloyd.com
With reference to our previous CustomerNEWS we would like to provide an update regarding Booking Cancellation Fee (BCF) for Mainland China and China/Hong Kong.
We wish to inform you that with immediate effect, there would be an additional term with regards to the Booking Cancellation Fee. Read more here.

North America – Operational Updates

hapag-lloyd.com
In order to better inform you of the operational situation within USA and Canada, we would like to inform you that our Region North America – Operations & Customer Service Advisory notices are now posted directly to the website in the Offices and Local Information > North America > USA section. In particular, you can find them at the bottom of the Local Information page. Read more here.

CANADA BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Air Canada Announces C$6bn Aid From Canadian Government

simpleflying.com
Air Canada has announced on Monday a sweeping nearly C$6 billion ($4.7 billion) in aid from the Canadian government. The airline announced a series of debt and equity financing agreements with the state. The aid, which has been a long time coming in Canada, requires the airline to offer eligible customers refunds, resume services across Canada, and maintain its order book for Airbus A220 and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Read more here.

Economy adds 303,000 jobs in March, unemployment rate falls, Statistics Canada says

ctvnews.ca
OTTAWA — Canada’s economy added more than 300,000 jobs in March, once again outpacing expectations and putting the labour market on track to recoup all that was lost one year ago even before a federal budget rolls out with its promise of billions in stimulus spending. Read more here.

Business sentiment improves as firms look past pandemic, Bank of Canada says

reuters.com
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Business sentiment in Canada continues to improve and many firms consider the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic behind them, though the outlook remains challenging for high-contact services, a Bank of Canada survey showed on Monday. Read more here.

Canada’s Porter Airlines Extends Flight Grounding To 15 Months

simpleflying.com
Toronto’s Billy Bishop City Airport-based Porter Airlines has pushed back its flight resumption yet again. Last we heard from the Dash 8 operator, the latest date had been set for May 19th. However, today the airline announced that it would not be flying again until at least June 21st. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Asean box trade with the US growing faster than China’s as sourcing shifts

theloadstar.com
South-east Asia’s container trade with the US is growing faster than China’s, highlighting the region’s shifting sourcing patterns.
According to the Japan Maritime Center (JMC), the share of US container imports originating in Asean broke through 20% for the first time last year – while China’s share declined for the second successive year. Read more here.