-
21
Apr
Newsletter – April 21, 2021
AIR FREIGHT UPDATES
The Fall Of The Airbus A300
simpleflying.com
As a boy, I used to watch the Airbus A300s cruise in over the suburbs to land in Sydney. When I was older, I got to fly in them occasionally. Although lacking the technological specs and creature comforts of contemporary planes, flying on an A300 was always a big deal. Read more here.
OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES
Canadian West Coast ports weathering pandemic challenges
ajot.com
Despite the unprecedented global challenges of COVID-19, the leading ports on Canada’s West Coast are still enjoying robust trade with Asia. Vancouver and Prince Rupert even broke cargo records in 2020, with container trends continuing to show strength in 2021. And the Port of Nanaimo, in partnership with DP World, is expanding a major regional, shortsea project with a container-on-barge service. Read more here.
Good news, bad news ‘and even worse news’ from congested Euro ports
theloadstar.com
The knock-on effects of the blockage of the Suez Canal is likely to impact North Europe supply chains until June.
Container hub ports that used the week-long lull from ship arrival delays to prepare their landside facilities for the box onslaught are now “full to the brim”, according to a carrier source. Read more here (login required).
UN urges authorities to ‘monitor freight rates’ and ‘strengthen competition’
theloadstar.com
UNCTAD, the UN’s trade and development body, yesterday warned that surging freight rates in container shipping had implications for policymakers. Far from the expected slump in shipping when Covid hit, as we all know, in fact demand has been high – and so are rates. This four-page document notes the shortage of ships and boxes and the surge in rates. It explains the problems with routes over the past year, and why shortages have occurred. Read more here (login required).
Boxship charter market smashing records across the board
splash247.com
Red-hot container charter deals are in unknown territory – sealing record high rates for unheard of lengths of time as operators pay top dollar to take any available tonnage.
Ships fixed this month are creating new milestones – as well as potential millstones if the markets turn sour anytime soon. Read more here.
Q1 ship orders highest since 2008
splash247.com
There’s further evidence of the boom times most of the shipping markets have entered this year with Banchero Costa reporting that more newbuilds were contracted in the first three months of the year than in any Q1 since 2008, the final year of shipping’s last great bullrun.
The ship ordering news – led by the container sector – follows on from plenty of other indicators showing how strongly most shipping segments have been in the first 16 weeks of the year. Read more here.
Container prices surge in China and India
lloydsloadinglist.com
The container shortages that have been adding to logistics logjams in Asia and beyond are showing few signs of being resolved, according to the latest data from Container xChange, an online platform for the leasing and trading of shipping containers.
In China, average prices for used twenty-foot containers increased 94% between November 2020 and March 2021. The surge from an average price of $1,299 per box in November last year to $2,521 in March “indicates that container scarcity is continuing to worsen” in those months, Container xChange said. Read more here.
GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES
Canadian Pacific slams CN’s bid to acquire Kansas City Southern
freightwaves.com
Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) slammed a bid by rival CN (NYSE: CNI) to acquire Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU), describing CN’s proposal as “massively complex and likely to fail” because it decreases competition and raises antitrust concerns, according to CP.
On Tuesday, CN offered to acquire KCS in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $33.7 billion. Less than a month ago, CP and Kansas City Southern (KCS) announced that they are planning to merge, pending regulatory and shareholder approval, in a deal worth $29 billion. Read more here.