Newsletter – April 20, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

High tension over batteries
aircargonews.net
As the number of lithium batteries in use continues to surge, the risks involved in transporting them by air are of growing concern. But there are moves afoot to address the issues.
One of the biggest safety concerns facing the air cargo industry is the transport of lithium batteries, due to the fire risk associated with them. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Vietnam taking significant volume of US-bound box exports away from China
splash247.com
Global trade patterns are being remoulded at a fast clip, with reshoring now clearly diminishing China’s dominance in the transpacific box trades.
Covid, a more strident China, tensions along the Taiwan Strait, and the war in Ukraine have all played their part in many companies looking for alternative places to source their goods lately. Read more here.

GROUND & RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern complete combination
splash247.com
Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern today completed their $31bn combination to create Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), establishing the first single-line railway connecting Canada, the US, and Mexico.
“Today, we celebrate this historic combination creating a truly unique single-line rail network that begins a new chapter of railroad history in North America,” said CPKC president and CEO Keith Creel. “As we mark this once-in-a-lifetime occasion by driving the Final Spike in Kansas City, Missouri, where CP and KCS come together, we stand ready to bring new competition into the North American rail industry at a time when our supply chains have never needed it more.” Read more here.

CANADA BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Inflation hits lowest level since August 2021, but BoC not expected to back off yet

bnnbloomberg.ca
The Bank of Canada is expected to keep interest rates elevated for some time even as the country’s annual inflation rate falls rapidly.
Inflation in Canada dropped to 4.3 per cent in March, Statistics Canada said in its latest consumer price index report released Tuesday. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Shippers and forwarders call for better data protection for online booking

aircargonews.com
The Global Shippers Forum and forwarder group Fiata have created a Charter for Protection and Governance of Data in International Trade as part of efforts to improve data protection for online booking and trading.
The charter sets out the minimum arrangements for data security and confidentiality that providers and operators of digital booking and trading platforms should adopt and incorporate in their End-User Agreements (EUAs). Read more here.