Newsletter – February 6, 2023

AIR FREIGHT UPDATES

The Airline “Junk Fees” President Biden Is Keen To Abolish

simpleflyinc.com
Could US airlines soon be barred from charging parents to sit next to their children? After vocal campaigning from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Transportation (DoT) over the past few years, President Joe Biden has emphasized his administration’s stance on slashing the “junk fees” leaving parents out of pocket at the airport. Read more here.

Air cargo outlook: challenging market ahead

aircargonews.net
It’s been an interesting period for the air cargo industry as volumes have been trending downwards since the first half of last year, while the capacity situation continues to change and rates remain above pre-Covid levels despite recent declines.
The fall in volumes reflects high inflation that is affecting consumer spending, the ongoing war in Ukraine’s effect on trade flows, the strength of the US dollar and high inventory levels amongst many major retailers. Read more here.  

OCEAN FREIGHT UPDATES

Maersk’s place in liner shipping post-divorce

splash247.com
Maersk’s role on the main east-west tradelanes looks set to be as a lesser player once the dissolution of the 2M alliance with Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) comes into effect in January 2025.
Last month’s big container news that the two largest liners were to divorce has sparked plenty of conjecture about what 2M’s demise means for the wider alliance structure. Read more here.

Overcapacity could spark new rates war among liners, warns Evergreen chief

theloadstar.com
Evergreen chairman Chang Yen-i has warned that, with the large number of newbuild mega-box ship deliveries beginning this year,  liner operators could see a return of pre-pandemic rates wars, if consumption fails to keep up with the capacity growth.
Mr Chang was speaking at the National Association of China Shipowners Chinese New Year celebration on Wednesday. Read more here.

GROUND AND RAIL FREIGHT UPDATES

Trucking demand visibility is far more important than supply

freightwaves.com
The question of how trucking capacity is growing or declining is common in industry, but the reality is that demand fluctuations are far more important to monitor as they swing much more violently.
Since December of 2018, the total tractor count from for-hire fleets (non-private) has grown 18%, according to the FMCSA, but has never shown a monthly change of over 2%. By contrast, the Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI), a measure of total truckload demand, has grown 12% over the same period, but monthly fluctuations topped 20% at times. Read more here.

FedEx Freight announces another round of driver furloughs

freightwaves.com
FedEx Freight, the less-than-truckload unit of FedEx Corp., (NYSE: FDX) announced late Friday it has enacted another round of temporary driver furloughs in some U.S. markets in what it called an effort to “align our workforce with operational requirements.”
The unit did not disclose the number of furloughed drivers. Nor did it state how long they might be furloughed. Read more here.