Newsletter – August 27, 2021

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Air cargo carriers shift operations as Shanghai disruption drags on

supplychaindive.com
Air carriers are adjusting their operations and diverting shipments in the face of freighter suspensions at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
The suspensions are due to the closure of Shanghai Pudong International Airport Cargo Terminal (known as PACTL), which began Aug. 20 after COVID-19 cases were reported among cargo workers. The closure has added further constraints to limited airfreight capacity out of Asia. Read more here.

Urban Outfitters turns to airfreight as Vietnam lockdown impacts supply chains

aircargonews.net
Fashion retailer Urban Outfitters has turned to airfreight to offset  ocean supply chains disruptions and keep its products on shelves in Europe and the US.
Currently, the company is experiencing difficulties getting its products from Vietnam, the manufacturing origin, to inventories in Europe and the US. Read more here.

Vietnam Airlines aims to start first US route late October

ajot.com
Vietnam Airlines JSC is pushing ahead with plans to start its first flights to the U.S. in late October even as it seeks to mitigate losses from the virtual suspension of operations during the nation’s worst coronavirus outbreak.
The carrier will use either Boeing Co. 787 or Airbus SE A350 aircraft for its inaugural U.S. route—Ho Chi Minh City to San Francisco—that will also rely on transporting cargo to offset initial low passenger demand, Chief Executive Officer Le Hong Ha said in an interview. The route will include a refueling stop, he added. During the pandemic the airline has operated charter flights to transport Vietnamese home from the U.S. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Ocean freight shipping exchange Nyshex nets $15M in latest round

freightwaves.com
Facilitator of two-way committed ocean contracts New York Shipping Exchange (Nyshex) announced Wednesday it has raised $15 million in a recent funding round. The round was led by NewRoad Capital Partners and included Collate Capital, Blumberg Capital and the New York Angels.
Since its start in 2015, Nyshex has sought to ensure contract performance between shippers and carriers on its digital platform. Read more here.

Big is beautiful to carriers in the new shipping contract ‘beauty contest’

theloadstar.com
Shippers and BCOs must be prepared to take part in “beauty contests” to determine their suitability for long-term contracts with their carriers.
But, given the extent to which the market has pivoted in favour of the shipping lines since the pandemic, one thing is certain: contract shippers will be paying much more next year to move their cargo, and possibly for years to come. Read more here (login required).

Added services to exploit rising rates boost transpacific capacity by 33%

theloadstar.com
To take advantage of skyrocketing freight rates, liner operators added 23 transpacific services between July 2020 and last month, boosting nominal capacity by 33%, according to the Shanghai Shipping Exchange.
In July 2020, global container shipping capacity stood at 23.8m teu, the transpacific accounting for 3.74m teu. By this July, capacity had increased to 24.77m teu globally and 4.88m teu on the Pacific trades. Read more here (login required).

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Need a warehouse? You may have to wait 9 months

freightwaves.com
Warehouse demand is at record levels. Driven by rising e-commerce demand and related one- and two-day shipping demands, the need for new warehouses has never been higher.
Real estate services firm JLL (NYSE:JLL) published a survey of over 720 logisticians last month that found 74% predict 5% annual growth or more in warehouse demand over the next three years. About 28% of those said it would be 20% or more, and 71% expect demand from e-commerce to grow significantly through 2024. Read more here.

Post-Covid volatility speeds up AI adoption for supply chain planning

theloadstar.com
As shippers grapple with supply chain planning in the face of volatility and rapid swings in demand, data science and artificial intelligence (AI) are rapidly emerging as vital tools.
Abe Eshekenazi, CEO of the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), noted that supply chains had been undergoing an enormous amount of disruption, which had increased the pressure on firms to be more precise in their forecasting. Read more here (login required).