Newsletter- August 22, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

How air passenger traffic impacts cargo capacity

aircargonews.net
The airfreight industry experienced record high rates in the spring of 2020. Around 45% of airfreight is transported in the belly of passenger planes, but with passenger traffic down, about 75% of airfreight capacity was removed from the market.
The world is returning to the skies, but the effects of the pandemic still linger for the air cargo industry. Global international air cargo capacity is down 6% as of April 2022, while Asia to the Middle East to Europe is up 9% from continuous rerouting. Read more here.  

China’s air cargo traffic “back to normal”

aircargonews.net
China’s air cargo traffic has returned to normal recently after posting a V-shape recovery in the first half of this year, China’s state press agency Xinhua has reported.
In July, the civil aviation industry transported a total of 539,000 tonnes of cargo and mail, an increase of 28.3% compared with April, Liang Nan, director of the transport department of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told a press conference. Read more here.

Late July stabilisation in air cargo demand fades in August

aircargonews.net
A partial recovery in air cargo volumes in the second half of July faded in August as Asia outbound demand began to weaken.
Statistics from data provider WorldACD show that in the two weeks ending August 14, worldwide cargo volumes in chargeable weight decreased by 5% compared with the final two weeks of July and were down 11% on last year. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Demand-led spikes are over for container shipping

splash247.com
The demand-led spikes seen during the pandemic that propelled container shipping to record earnings are now a thing of the past, according to new analysis from Copenhagen-based Sea-Intelligence.
Sea-Intelligence has run the numbers on supply and demand during the covid era, and its conclusions add to the growing consensus that volumes are slipping, and it is only supply chain chaos such as port congestion that is helping prop up rates. Read more here.

Fiercely hot summer takes its toll on river transport worldwide

splash247.com
This year’s record-breaking heat in the northern hemisphere’s summer and lack of rainfall has seen a reduction in water levels around the globe, impeding river transport of grain, diesel, coal and other commodities, which is driving up costs and making material supplies scarce.
An unsettling drop in water levels in key European waterways has resulted in immensely strained logistics in shipping commodities throughout the continent, with barges only able to carry one-third or one-quarter of their usual cargo. Read more here. 

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

FMCSA considers hours-of-service exemption for truck driver

freightwaves.com
Federal regulators are considering a company truck driver’s request for a sweeping exemption from hours-of-service (HOS) and ELD rules, and the public will have a chance to comment.
In applying for the exemption, Ronnie Brown III, a driver for Waterloo, Iowa-based Gray Transportation, contends that the “one-size-fits-all” aspect of the regulations poses safety risks because the rules do not always coincide with his “natural sleep patterns,” according to his application filed with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Read more here.