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06
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Newsletter – April 6, 2023
AIR FREIGHT UPDATES
Air cargo stabilises but there are risks ahead
Recent airfreight rate data appears to show that the air cargo market may have reached a new normal but the outlook remains cloudy.
Writing in his monthly column for the Baltic Exchange Airfreight newsletter, Bruce Chan, director and senior research analyst covering global logistics and future mobility at investment bank Stifel said that airfreight rates had in March improved slightly compared with February, in line with pre-pandemic norms. Read more here.
OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES
Sharp Increase in Containership Schedule Reliability
Coming back from the depths of the shipping surge experienced in 2021 and early 2022, the container shipping industry is recovering its schedule reliability to levels last seen at the onset of the pandemic. New data from Sea Intelligence shows the highest level of schedule reliability in 30 months reaching levels not seen since August 2020 and approaching pre-pandemic norms. Read more here.
Just how much did MSC’s container business make last year?
It’s one of shipping’s most closely held secrets, up there with Greeks and the dark fleet, the true meaning of EEDI, defining an eco-ship, the hourly wage of a Burmese deckhand, and the full extent of the web of shipping interests of the Ofer family. Just how much is Switzerland’s richest man worth?
News that Gianluigi Aponte was one of the fastest-growing accumulators of wealth last year – as per a new billionaires survey carried by Forbes – was the most-read story on Splash yesterday. Read more here.
Mixed signals: Container shipping downturn not following the script
Spot container freight indexes are still falling. Cargo shippers are signing annual contracts at sharply lower rates than last year. Import demand continues to be crippled by high inventories. A massive wave of new container ships is now hitting the market in full force.
And yet, the container shipping industry does not appear to be battening down the hatches for a looming storm. It is not behaving like an industry facing an imminent crisis. Read more here.
‘Nervous’ box lines back-pedal on D&D charges as new rules loom
While US ports and container terminals still resist a regulatory drive to curtail detention and demurrage (D&D) charges, several shipping lines have stopped charging cargo owners and truckers on days when terminals are closed.
The threat of further legislation against antitrust immunity may be a factor.
The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has been questioning container terminals and the 11 largest box lines serving the US on their policy of charging D&D fees when their facilities are closed. Read more here (login required).