Newsletter – April 29, 2019

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Cargolux chief: ‘I won’t drop prices to get tonnage’ in a challenging 2019

theloadstar.com
“I expect 2019 to be rather more of a challenge,” said Richard Forson, chief executive and president of Cargolux, which this week released record results for 2018. Read more here. 

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

High US retail inventories threaten to dampen transpacific growth

lloydsloadinglist.com
Rising retail inventory levels caused by the frontloading of cargoes ahead of tariffs in the final quarter of last year could lead to slower growth on the transpacific trades this year. Read more here. 

Cosco Q1 profits up; a good indicator that ‘we are over the worst’

theloadstar.com
Cosco Shipping Holdings has posted a net profit of Rmb687m ($102m) for the first three months of the year.
This follows the Chinese state-owned container liner and terminal group’s $251m positive return last year, which, said Alphaliner, included $230m of subsidies from the Chinese government. Read more here. 

$586m loss hits ONE’s parent carriers, only MOL manages to stay in the black

theloadstar.com
Japanese merged carrier Ocean Network Express (ONE) recorded a net loss of $586m in its first year of operation, however it said it expected to move into the black in its second year. Read more here. 

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

European truck driver shortage now major problem for shippers

lloydsloadinglist.com
The US is not alone in suffering a serious structural deficit of trucking capacity in terms of a shortage of drivers, according to one leading forwarder executive. Read more here. 

US rail freight operators capitalise on truck driver shortage to win new business

theloadstar.com
Rail operators across North America are continuing to capitalise on the dearth of truck drivers, as shippers’ headaches grow and US exporters become less competitive. Read more here. 

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

US-Mexico border congestion eases, but ‘we are weeks from normal service’

theloadstar.com
Delays have eased at US-Mexico border crossings, but logistics providers warn that it is still slow–going on northbound routes, and that it will take weeks before border dwell times are back to where they were pre-April. Read more here.