Newsletter – December 13, 2017

AIR FREIGHT

Another online retailer looks at entering air cargo market
source: aircargonews.net
Reports from China suggest that online retailer JD.com is could follow the lead of Amazon and establish its own air cargo fleet and even build its own airports. Read more here.

A record air freight peak season flies into a real ‘perfect storm’
source:theloadastar.co.uk
“Quite literally, this is now the perfect storm.”
Continued strong air freight demand and the resulting lack of capacity has been exacerbated by severe weather across Europe.
This morning, Air France-KLM Cargo sent a note to customers warning of “serious disruptions in our operations”, due to heavy snow in Amsterdam. It added that they would be informed of re-bookings through the carrier’s ‘notify me system’. Read more here (login required)

ICAO backs new air cargo rules on lithium batteries and other dangerous goods
source: theloadstar.co.uk
ICAO has backed IATA proposals to segregate shipments containing lithium batteries and those containing class-one dangerous goods in ULDs and cargo compartments.
The proposals will come into voluntary force from the start of 2018, with ICAO implementing mandatory regulations the following year. Read more here.

Air cargo heading for another solid year in 2018
source: shippingonline.cn
AIR cargo growth is expected to slow with some potential challenges ahead, but the industry is still poised to have another “solid” year in 2018, according to IATA’s chief economist Brian Peare. Read more here.

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

HMM Launches Block Train Services to Europe via China
source: splash247.com
Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) will launch a block train service to Europe via the Trans China Railway (TCR) from South Korea.
South Korea’s flagship carrier said it will collect cargo at port in South Korea and then ship them to Qingdao and Rizhao in China’s Shandong province, from where it will be sent to Chengdu in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The cargo will then go to Dostyk in Kazakhstan and on to Poland on the Trans Siberian Railway. Read more here.

Gloomy outlook for transpacific rates as Maersk becomes latest to quit TSA
source: theloadstar.co.uk
Unless transpacific container carriers introduce some capacity discipline to the trade, such as that once imposed by the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA), rate levels are likely to fall to unprecedented lows, according to new analysis from Alphaliner. Read more here (login required).

Payra to be turned into a deep-sea port for Bangladesh, to cut transit times and costs
source: shippingonline.cn
PAYRA port in Bangladesh is to be dredged to deliver a draft of 16 metres that would enable large container ships to call and reduce transit time to the country by one month as cargo would no longer require transshipment via Colombo or Singapore. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

PIL slashes Chongqing intermodal transit times
source:lloydsloadinglist.com
Singapore containership operator Pacific International Lines (PIL) group claims it has reduced transit times to and from the rapidly developing western Chinese metropolis Chongqing by up to 80% with the offering of an alternative gateway option via Qinzhou in Guangxi. Read more here.