Newsletter – August 21, 2020

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Canada To Test Fly The Boeing 737 MAX Next Week

simpleflying.com

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was the first regulatory body to test flight system revisions of the beleaguered Boeing 737 MAX. Now, Canada’s air travel regulator, Transport Canada will be conducting its own series of checks to certify it will be safe flying in to, out of, and through Canada’s airspace. The activities will begin next week – something that carriers Air Canada and WestJet should be eagerly anticipating. Read more here.

Lufthansa Cargo opens new pharma hubs as airfreight prepares for a vaccine

theloadstar.com
Lufthansa Cargo has “massively expanded” its cold chain footprint with new pharma facilities in Munich and Chicago, as airfreight turns its eye towards vaccine distribution.

The 1,000sq metre pharma hub at Munich Airport has capacity for 96 pallets and loose cargo, with storage available under three different temperature ranges. Read more here.

UPS to raise China-US parcel surcharges 30% starting Aug. 30

supplychaindive.com
UPS will raise peak surcharges on shipments from mainland China and Hong Kong to the U.S. starting Aug. 30. The new surcharges will last until further notice, according to the carrier’s latest update issued Thursday. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Longshore employer: Port of Montreal cargo must move

freightwaves.com

More than 475 containers, some holding perishable goods, sit on dock while workers are on strike. The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) on Wednesday called for a truce to end the longshore workers’ strike and get cargo moving again at the Port of Montreal. Read more here.

MSC beefs up its transpacific offering

theloadstar.com
Demand between Asia and North America has confounded the severe downturn predictions, despite the US still being in the grip of Covid-19.

Container spot rates to the US west coast are running at record levels and are more than double the level of a year ago, being tipped to break through the $4,000 per feu mark by the end of the month. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Anger as Amazon pressures US Prime sellers to use its own logistics service

theloadstar.com
Amazon is flexing its muscles to push merchants onto its platform to use its logistics services. This week online merchants selling via Amazon, and which are on the Seller Fulfilled Programme (SFP), received an e-mail telling them to up their delivery performance or “suffer the consequences”. Read more here.