Newsletter – April 7, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

TIACA calls for action to address critical challenges faced by the air cargo industry

aircargoweek.com
The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) called for action to address critical challenges being faced by the air cargo industry during a Media day presentation.
The organisation has completed a yearlong transformation program which has created a forward-looking association well positioned to unite and represent all sectors of the supply chain, reflecting its broad membership composition. Read more here.

Major efficiency improvement for the Air Cargo Programme

aircargoweek.com
An important decision of the Cargo Agency Conference (CAC) will give freight forwarders a stronger voice in the development of CAC resolutions. This is the result of a newly adopted resolution of the CAC that will require consultation with Regional Joint Councils before any future resolutions (or amendments to resolutions) are proposed to and considered by the CAC.
The CAC is composed only of airlines. The Regional Joint Councils are composed of local freight forwarder associations affiliated with the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA), as well as individual freight forwarders and airlines. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

A global headache: Covid-caused container port congestion

insidelogisitics.ca
Shippers everywhere are wondering when they’ll see their containerized cargo arrive. Container terminal and port congestion, largely at West Coast ports, has reached record levels this winter.
In Vancouver, which has been hit only mildly, the average container dwell time was 4.7 days in the month of February, and CN alone had more than 130,000 on-dock footage, with dwell times of five to seven days.  Read more here.

Interview with CEO Rolf Habben Jansen: “Things look a lot less dire than feared”

hapaglloyd.com
Our CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen, recently spoke with SPIEGEL, Germany’s leading news weekly, about the incident in the Suez Canal and the state of the shipping industry in general.
The Dutchman Rolf Habben Jansen, 55, has been the CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, Germany’s largest container shipping company, since 2014. Read more here.

LA-LB port congestion exacerbated by railcar scarcity

seanews.com.tr
A SHORTAGE of intermodal railcars has become the top driver of congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, according to terminal operators, although western railroads say they are working to push more railcars to Southern California. The railcar shortage began last month due to severe winter weather that disrupted rail operations in the midsection of the country. It’s having a greater impact on cargo flow at North America’s largest import gateway than shortages of labour and chassis. Read more here.

Cosco’s 2020 net profit soars fourfold to US$2b on strong demand

seanews.com.tr
CHINA’S Cosco Shipping Holdings posted a fourfold increase to CNY13.2 billion (US$2 million) last year, up from CNY3 million the year prior, the carrier said in its annual results announcement.
The company attributed the surge in net profit to the addition of an extra 40 ships to its fleet amid a rebound in demand and freight rates, reports IHS Media. Read more here.

Maersk faces capacity loss of up to 30pc from Suez closure

seanews.com.tr
DANISH shipping giant Maersk says it expects capacity losses of 20 to 30 per cent ‘over multiple weeks’ resulting from the impact on the Asia-Europe supply chain with the recent closure of the Suez Canal, reports IHS Media.
Maersk made the grim assessment as the Evergreen-operated Ever Given was finally refloated and towed out of the way, reopening the vital waterway that was blocked for six days. Read more here.

CANADA BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

IMF upgrades Canada’s 2021 growth outlook by most among advanced economies 

bnnbloomberg.ca
The International Monetary Fund is striking an optimistic tone on Canada’s recovery from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, upgrading its view of Canada’s economic growth this year by the most among all advanced economies.
In its World Economic Outlook published on Tuesday, the IMF said it now expects the Canadian economy to grow five per cent over the course of 2021, 1.4 percentage points higher than its previous forecast. That’s even more optimistic than the Bank of Canada’s expectation for four per cent economic growth this year, though the central bank’s last official estimate was made in January as COVID vaccines were just beginning to be administered. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Dialogue Recordings from FIATA Week Available Online

fiata.com
The 2021 FIATA Week took place online from between March 22 and 25. Under the theme ‘Driving the Change’, the event provided a platform for FIATA bodies to discuss their annual work plan, offered capacity-building sessions for members, delivered high-level dialogues with top-quality speakers, and provided an opportunity for FIATA members to meet the HQ team in Geneva.
The four high-level dialogues – on digitalization in the supply chain, the FMC, the safety and security of COVID-19 vaccine distribution, and the Presidency’s Views from the Top – can be found on the FIATA YouTube channel. Read more here.