Newsletter – April 9, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Previously Interested Parties No Longer Want Air Transat

simpleflying.com
Following the canceled merger with Air Canada last week, Air Transat finds itself in need of another investor. Unfortunately, those willing to place bids on the carrier back in 2019 say they are now no longer interested. The airline may need to place its hopes on an offer it rejected back in December, questioning the required level of financing. Read more here.

TUI Computers Label Adults As Children Leading To Underpower 737 Take Off

simpleflying.com
On July 21st, 2020, a TUI Airways 737 was deemed to have conducted an underpowered takeoff. The findings, as determined by the UK’s AAIB (Air Accidents Investigation Branch), concluded that an IT system flaw produced an inaccurate load sheet, leading to an incorrect takeoff weight. 38 adult females were mislabeled as children, estimating each of these passengers as weighing half of the standard estimate for the appropriate category. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

America’s first new terminal in more than a decade opens as nation battles severe port congestion

splash247.com
The 3,237 teu Yorktown Express will come to berth today in North Charleston on the US east coast to much fanfare, the debut ship to call at a brand new terminal, the first new box facility completed in America for more than a decade.
More than $1bn has been spent on developing the Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal, which is set to become the flagship facility for South Carolina Ports. Featuring 426m of quayside and a 47-acre container yard, the terminal, named after an 89-year-old local senator, has an annual capacity of 700,000 teu and has 25 hybrid gantry cranes. Read more here.

Shippers demand more detail about post-Suez blockage service disruptions and blanks

lloydsloadinglist.com
Shipping lines are failing to provide Europe’s shippers with enough information about service disruptions and port rotations following the Suez Canal closure, according to Jordi Espin, strategic relations manager at the European Shippers’ Council.
Europe’s container terminals have been operating at subdued levels this week due to the Suez closure. However, vessels delayed in Suez queues or re-routed around the Cape of Good Hope are expected to arrive en masse over the next week. Congestion, equipment shortages, blank sailings and void port calls are expected to disrupt services for a number of weeks. Read more here.

CMA CGM Jacques Saade sets new teu world record

splash247.com
The CMA CGM Jacques Saade, the world’s largest LNG-powered containership, has broken its own world record, carrying the highest number of full containers aboard a single vessel. The huge ship set off from Singapore yesterday bound for Europe carrying 21,433 full teu containers. Read more here.

Port of Long Beach smashes container records in March

freightwaves.com
A record number of ocean containers crossed the docks at the Port of Long Beach in March, further underscoring that there will be no slow season this year at U.S. ports. Earlier this week, the Port of Charleston reported record results for March.
The Long Beach port authority on Thursday said its terminals handled 840,387 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) last month, surpassing the previous high of 815,885 set in December. March is normally one of the slowest months for maritime trade, as supply chains relax from order peaks associated with U.S. and Chinese holidays. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Now US intermodal rail yards clog up as port congestion and delays continue

theloadstar.com
US shippers and importers that rely on rail are bracing themselves for a long slog through a period of congestion and delays.
Some have lost patience and shifted traffic to truck.
The Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex has become synonymous with congestion for months, and problems are expected to continue at least into June, with imports projected to remain at elevated levels. Read more here (login required).

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

The omnichannel age is here — and it’s expensive

supplychaindive.com
For most of the industry’s life, retail had a plentiful supply of labor for critical tasks that was absolutely free. The source of that unpaid labor? Customers.
Shoppers drove the last mile to and from their house to the nearest distribution hub (in this case, a store). They paced the aisles and picked the merchandise from the shelf. They walked products from shelf to point of sale and then to their car before driving off, perhaps to another store. Read more here.

4 tools to fight fraud, counterfeits and cyberattacks in the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain

supplychaindive.com
The Moderna, Pfizer and most recently Johnson & Johnson vaccines have received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, while AstraZeneca plans to soon submit its vaccine for review by the agency.
That means multiple vaccines with different supply chains and global distribution, trickling down to diverse administration sites. Read more here.

Supply Chains Do the Math on Reshoring’s Pros and Cons

ciffa.com
The COVID-19 pandemic left almost no supply chain unscathed.
The pandemic affected 98% of global supply chains, according to a DHL Resilience360 (now called Everstream) survey of supply chain professionals. Industries that invested significantly in outsourcing, offshoring and lean manufacturing to reduce costs saw dramatic increases in risk play out. Read more here.

Factories must stay open, plead exporters, as Bangladesh goes into lockdown

theloadstar.com
The world’s clothing factory, Bangladesh, today announced an ‘all-closed’ week-long lockdown, starting on Wednesday.
It includes all factories, transport and shops, and will create uproar among the country’s export-oriented industry. Read more here (login required).