Newsletter – August 16, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Hong Kong Adds US, Spain, France, And More To COVID Risk List

simpleflying.com
Hong Kong has updated its travel guidelines and added 15 countries to its “high risk” list. This includes the US, Spain, France, Greece, Malaysia, Turkey, and more. The new rules mean arrivals must quarantine for 21 days in a designated hotel and only HK residents will be permitted entry. The move comes less than two weeks after the territory opened its borders to visits for the first time since March 2020. Read more here.

Is COVID Testing The Next Airline Ancillary Revenue Pot Of Gold?

simpleflying.com
While air travel in some markets is resuming, most international air travel markets remain in the doldrums. Few people expect a significant reboot in the short term. But most people see COVID-19 testing figuring in any future international travel over the next few years. A COVID-19 testing industry emerging, and airlines are key players. One of the outcomes is COVID-19 testing is shaping up as an important source of ancillary revenue for airlines. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Philippine authorities suspect collusion among container carriers

splash247.com
Manila is the latest place where carriers are under the spotlight for their pricing ploys.
A preliminary investigation by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) suggests some container lines are engaged in price fixing amid surging freight costs.
PCC commissioner Johannes Bernabe, in an interview with the local BusinessMirror newspaper, said that certain shipping lines calling Manila could be colluding. Read more here.

Ningbo-Zhoushan terminal closed for sixth consecutive day

splash247.com
The Meishan terminal at Ningbo-Zhoushan port remained closed for a sixth straight day on Monday, with ship queues outside the port at record levels.
A 34-year-old port worker was found to have caught Covid-19 sparking the terminal’s swift closure early on Wednesday morning last week. In the intervening days, a number of liners have rerouted ships to avoid Ningbo-Zhoushan. The terminal accounts for around one fifth of the approximate 30m teu throughput of the port. Read more here.

How the Taliban takeover in landlocked Afghanistan will change shipping patterns

splash247.com
The Taliban takeover of landlocked Afghanistan is expected to change shipping patterns in Central Asia.
Afghanistan had previously been working with India and Iran to develop Chabahar Port in Iran’s east. The port, in the works for the best part of the decade, has been seen as an alternative to Chinese-backed port developments in Pakistan. However, with the Taliban back in charge of the country, Afghan exports and imports are now more likely to go through Karachi. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Kansas City Southern rejects new takeover bid from Canadian Pacific

marketwatch.com
OMAHA, Neb. — Kansas City Southern railroad is trying to keep its $33.6 billion merger with Canadian National on track by rejecting a competing $31 billion bid from rival Canadian Pacific earlier this week.
Kansas City Southern KSU, +0.12% said Thursday that its board unanimously decided to continue backing Canadian National’s CNI, -0.73% higher offer. KCS shareholders are scheduled to vote whether to accept CN’s offer on Aug. 19, but the U.S. railroad said it may now delay that vote if the U.S. Surface Transportation Board doesn’t issue its decision on a key part of Canadian National’s acquisition plan before Tuesday. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Canada invests in ports on west and east coasts to improve efficiencies

splash247.com
The Government of Canada is investing more than C$33m ($26.35m) in a conveyor system at the Saguenay Port in Quebec.
The system will be used to move materials back and forth between the industrial port zone and ships docked at the Grande-Anse Marine Terminal.
The funding, provided through Canada’s National Trade Corridors Fund, is intended to enhance the performance and functions of facilities at the port, helping to increase handling capacity and reduce bottlenecks. Read more here.

Government of Canada announces mandatory vaccination of federal public service and certain federally regulated employers

blg.com
Today, the Government of Canada announced by press release its intent to require vaccination against COVID-19 for all employees across the federal public service. The measure will take effect as early as the end of September. The government will provide accommodation to “those few who are unable to be vaccinated”.
The Government also announced its intention to require employees in the federally regulated air, rail, and marine transportation sectors to be vaccinated, as soon as possible in the fall, and by no later than the end of October. Read more here.