Newsletter: April 18, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Capacity drop hits Cathay Pacific throughput in March

aircargonews.net
Cathay Pacific said its cargo throughput in March dropped nearly 50% compared to 2019 levels due to capacity reductions in response to Covid quarantine requirements.
The airline has released its traffic figures for March 2022, reporting that it carried 97,166 tonnes of cargo last month, an increase of 16.6% compared to March 2021, but a 47.5% decrease compared with the same period in 2019. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Ever Forward refloated, will be inspected before returning to service

splash247.com
At 7:12 on Sunday morning, the Ever Forward was refloated after being stuck in the mud in Chesapeake Bay for more than a month. A high tide, along with a month’s worth of work – dredging around the ship and removing 505 containers – finally brought success to the effort. Read more here.

Will Long Beach’s sunny spring be followed by stormy summer?

freightwaves.com
The Port of Long Beach reported its busiest March ever and “the most active quarter on record as long-dwelling cargo continued to move out of marine terminals.”
The port moved 864,156 twenty-foot equivalent units last month, up 2.7% from the previous record set in March 2021. Imports increased 4.7% year-over-year to 427,280 TEUs, while exports declined 18.3% to 114,185 TEUs. Empty containers “jumped” 10% to 321,691 TEUs, the port said in Thursday’s announcement. Read more here. 

MSC to launch direct China-Chittagong service to avoid delays

theloadstar.com
Due to severe bottlenecks in regional transhipment ports, MSC is launching a direct service from South China to Chittagong.
The new Bengal Service aims to bring relief to Bangladeshi importers from the congestion at the transhipment hubs of Singapore and Colombo. Read more here.

Carriers hunt alternative ex-SE Asia cargo as lockdowns hobble China ports

theloadstar.com
As supply chain uncertainty at China’s key port cities drags on, shippers are hunting for alternative cargo options from South-east Asia.
In Shanghai, where most of the city remains under lockdown, despite officials introducing a three-tier system to slowly ease restrictions, the container port – usually the busiest in the world – has been operating but the lack of trucking capacity has left supply chains in disarray. Read more here (login required).

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Trailer order backlogs stretching into December, ACT Research says

trucknews.com
Demand for trailers remains strong in the U.S., with February’s net orders reaching levels not seen since December 2020.
The 37,900 units booked during the month were up 40% over the previous month and 28% higher than a year prior, ACT Research said, releasing preliminary numbers. The preliminary estimates tend to be within 3% of final tallies.
Final figures are expected to show order backlogs stretching into December based on current production rates, the analysts said. Read more here.

Gas crisis plagues textile, spinning mills

thedailystar.net
Production in spinning mills in this peak season has remained halted over the past six days because of a severe crisis of gas for overhauling at the Bibiyana gas field.
Following the suspension in production, the millers are fearing that the export of garment items will be affected because of delayed supply of yarn to the export-oriented garment factories. Read more here. 

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Get ready for the next supply chain shockwave

freigthwaves.com
Concern is growing that the spread of COVID cases and city lockdowns in China will have massive downstream effects for global supply chains that could dwarf previous disruptions since the start of the pandemic.
Last May, the huge Yantian container terminal at the Port of Shenzhen throttled down to 30% of normal productivity for a month to stamp out a handful of positive cases there. Hundreds of thousands of shipments that couldn’t enter the port accumulated in factories and warehouses, and many vessels skipped the port to avoid waiting seven days or more at anchor. It took weeks after the port reopened to clear the cargo backlog. Read more here.