Newsletter: February 18, 2022

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

Record revenues for Air Canada Cargo

aircargonews.net
Air Canada Cargo saw all-time high cargo revenues of nearly C$1.5bn in 2021, compared with C$920m in 2020.
The cargo arm’s record annual revenue exceeded C$1bn for the first time, reaching C$490m in the fourth quarter of 2021. Read more here. 

Hong Kong Airport sees transshipment traffic decline

aircargonews.net
Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 391,000 tonnes of cargo in January, a 4.7% decline on the same month in 2021 (410,000 tonnes) as transshipment traffic fell.
Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) said that freighter flight movements at the world’s largest international cargo hub saw year-on-year growth of 14.1% to 7,165 from the 6,278 in January last year. Read more here. 

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Port congestion eases in the United States, shifts to Asia

container-news.com
The US West and East Coast ports saw a reduction in port congestion during January, as workers cleared a substantial backlog amid Covid-19 outbreaks, according to the supply chain visibility platform provider Project44.
Particularly, the number of days that ships were waiting to berth at US ports, on average, fell from 14.1 days in December to 7.4 days in January, according to Project44 intelligence. Read more here. 

Forwarders look to shipper-owned containers to boost reliability

theloadstar.com
With the pressure on equipment capacity showing no sign of abating, freight forwarders are increasingly turning to “shipper-owned containers (SOCs)” to minimise the risk associated with port congestion and potential penalties, amid Covid-induced supply chain dysfunction. Read more here (login required).

Salvage operation to get underway on MOL’s fire-hit car carrier

splash247.com
A salvage operation is set to start on the drifting car carrier Felicity Ace that caught fire on February 16, some 90 nautical miles southwest of the Azores in the Atlantic, while on its way from Emden, Germany to Rhode Island, US. Read more here. 

PIL to fine clients who misdeclare cargo weight

splash247.com
Singapore’s Pacific International Lines (PIL) will fine clients $30,000 per container for any box it finds that there has been a misdeclaration of cargo weight, a move other carriers will likely follow. Misdeclaration includes but is not limited to incorrect/partial declaration, late declaration, alteration or omission of such a declaration. Read more here

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Trucking Rates Between U.S., Canada Soar on Trade Blockade

bloomberg.com
The trucker blockade at the U.S.-Canada border ended over the weekend but efforts to tally the economic costs are still under way.
Commercial traffic resumed late Sunday along the Ambassador Bridge after the week-long standoff. A larger protest against vaccine mandates for lorry drivers has been going on for two weeks in Ottawa, where hundreds of tractor-trailers blocked downtown streets. Read more here.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS – GOVERNMENT UPDATES

Five Eyes competition authorities to focus on collusion in international trade

accc.gov.au
Global efforts to prevent anti-competitive conduct from occurring in the supply and distribution of goods will be boosted by a new working group announced today between the ACCC, US Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation, Canadian Competition Bureau, NZ Commerce Commission, and UK Competition and Markets Authority.  Read more here.