Newsletter – August 4, 2020

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Fears air freight rates may soar even higher as tech launches loom

theloadstasr.com

Air freight rates could see further increases as forwarders report an up-to-four-week wait for ocean freight bookings from China to Europe.

While transpacific ocean freight is enjoying more capacity, the westbound trade is expected to get “a lot, lot worse”, which could cause a knock-on effect in air freight as frustrated shippers look to move goods faster. Read more here.

Airfreight rates up as capacity comes under pressure

aircargonews.net

Airfreight rates from key Asian hubs continued to climb last week as ocean capacity shortages and personal protective equipment shipments pick up.

The latest figures from TAC Index show that average airfreight rates from Hong Kong to North America last week climbed for the fourth week in a row as they increased by 4.6% week on week to $5.70 per kg. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Labour Update at the Port of Montreal – Notice #3

Port of Montreal
Latest developments in the ongoing labour dispute between the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) and the Longshoremen’s Union, local 375 (the Union):

Please note that until further notice, beginning Friday, August 7, the port will operate from Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

As these may be subject to last minutes changes, we urge you to consult with the terminal operators prior to going to the port.

Update from Montreal Gateway Terminals: Not Accepting Exports Due to Labour Situation

Notice issued Monday by the Montreal Gateway Terminals, operator of the Racine and Cast terminals:

Given the uncertainties of the current labour situation at the Port of Montreal, effective immediately, MGT will not be in a position to accept any further exports until further notice.

ONE Q1 profit soars 3,000% on 2019, thanks to cheaper fuel and higher rates

theloadstar.com

Japanese carrier Ocean Network Express (ONE) has kicked off the quarterly financial results reporting season with a $167m net profit for April-June.

Despite seeing liftings slump by about 20% on its Q1 of last year, to 2.67m teu, the merged carrier’s revenue declined by just 4.8% to $2.74bn, as freight rates spiked in response to tight capacity on the major east-west tradelanes. Read more here.

Slow steaming won’t necessarily cut emissions – so what will?

splash247.com

Recent research has shown how the cubic law of fuel consumption-speed dependency is simple, but the reality is more complicated, thus it does not necessarily hold further away from the design speed, and that slow steaming might not be the ‘fix-all’ magic bullet many people want it to be. This is potentially disappointing to a number of people who had been championing this idea, from various sectors of society – from Emmanuel Macron to Extinction Rebellion. Read more here.

Rates to the US west coast hit records, leaving analysts puzzled

splash247.com

Analysts are at a loss to explain at how when the US has just recorded a 32.9% drop in quarterly GDP figures rates on the transpacific to the US west coast have hit record highs.

In the 10 years since the Shanghai Containerized Freight Index was launched rates to the US west coast have never been so strong, rising by $463 to hit $3,167 per feu over the past week. Rates to the US east coast from Asia are also strong at $3,495 per teu, but still a long way short of the records set during the US west coast labour dispute. Read more here.

CANADA BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Canada’s State of Trade 2020

international.gc.ca

Message from the Minister

As Canada’s Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade, I am pleased to present the Canada’s State of Trade 2020 report on behalf of the Government of Canada. This report gives Canadians a snapshot of our economic activities in 2019 while recognizing the unprecedented global uncertainty of 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here.